Latkes (Jewish potato pancakes)

The most well-known dish of the Jewish cuisine and perhaps the one which has seeped into the food of other peoples the most. The history of latkes is rich and fascinating, and while I won't recount it here for lack of space and time, it's enough to say that making them central to Jewish cuisine and culture would be somewhat of an understatement. 
While everyone knows its Jewish origins, it's hard to encounter a latke-free celebration in today's USA even in completely Gentile gatherings. Of course, the delicious character of these bite-sized appetizers probably contributed to this as well: if just one dish had to be chosen from any food culture, the latkes would be the most difficult to resist from the Jewish cuisine. What's there not to love about potato based fried finger-food, right?
What sets latkes (also called potato pancakes) apart from any other potato appetizers or fried potato snacks is their special texture. The type of texture you can achieve only by grating raw potatoes into long and thin strips before mixing them with other ingredients and finally frying them to perfection. Many European peoples have their own versions of potato pancakes (such as the Czech bramboraki), but none really compare to the latkes, especially when you make them the base of various delicious toppings. 

Recipe sources: Saveur, Smitten Kitchen and Bobby Flay (to name only the most prominent ones; I researched and tried the recipe extensively until I mastered it). :D

Last year: Grilled Romaine salad with honey-mustard dressing.
Two years ago: Spaghetti aglia e olio e peperoncino (Italian) (vegan).
Three years ago: Mini chicken skewers (oven-baked) with satay sauce (Indonesian).
Four years ago: Peanut butter hot chocolate milk, Chicken with peanut butter sauce (Thai) and Pigs in a blanket (British).



Ingredients (for a batch, serves 4-6 as appetizers or 2 as a light meal):

• 450-500 g potatoes
• 1 small yellow onion (or 1/2 of a medium one)
• 30 g all-purpose flour (or matzo meal)
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• oil for frying

Peel and grate the potatoes through a box grater, the large hole side. Do it by hand, because using food processors tends to ruin that special texture I was talking about above (trust me, it will be worth the effort). You should aim to obtain long and thin strips of potato. Do the same for the onion and mix the two vegetables in a large bowl. Sprinkle plenty of salt over them and mix well.Gather the mixture up in cheesecloth (or simply a sieve) and squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible, discarding it.

After the mix is somewhat drier, mix in the flour and the beaten egg. Also add pepper and more salt, if you'd like.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and add large spoonfuls of the batter, flattening them with the back of the spoon.

Fry them for 2-3 minutes and then turn them over and fry for another minute. Repeat with the next of the batter, while keeping the cooked ones warm on a plate.

It's done, dig in! :)

Note: One of the most common pairings is serving them with a little sour cream and chives or garlic, but feel free to improvise :).