Yes, it’s hamantaschen season (being nearly Purim, and all) and thus not the time for latkes. But there is a lively debate underway on Twitter as regards the relative worth of hamantaschen (three-cornered cookies with [usually] jam filling made in homage to the three-cornered hat said to have been worn by the Purim villan, Haman). (In Hebrew [fun fact!] they’re called oznei Haman, Haman’s ears, and I like that better).
This debate is something of an annual ritual in American Jewish circles, and really, the future of our people depends on all right-thinking Jews understanding the clear superiority of the latke. I mean, really.
HOWEVER – in the course of the Twitter debate, it has become clear to me that some poor souls have never had a decent latke! They have even been referred to as (gasp) “meh hash browns”! 
And so I have taken it upon myself to educate the unwashed Jewish masses with the following: my latke recipe. It is the best latke recipe in the world, and I can only take a little bit of credit because though I added one small tweak (flour rather than matza meal), I actually found it somewhere. I just don’t know where anymore, and so in the tradition of great chefs everywhere, I believe I’ll now take all the credit.
Und zo – just in time for your Purim celebrations, I give to you:
THE BEST LATKE RECIPE IN THE WORLD (the trick is in that second step)
2 lbs potatoes (about 8), peel if desired
1 T grated yellow onion
2 lg eggs, beaten
¼ C flour
1 t salt
½ t black pepper
Oil for frying
1.Grate potatoes (by hand or food processor).
2. Place grated potatoes in thin, clean dishcloth. Wring cloth with potatoes over small bowl. Set liquid aside and allow to settle. After a few minutes, discard water, but reserve collected starch.
3. Place drained potatoes in medium bowl. Grate onion into bowl, add onions, eggs, flour, salt, pepper, reserved potato starch, and mix well.
4. Heat oil in heavy skillet over medium flame (should be about 1 inch deep). Use ¼ C of potato mixture per pancake; form pancake with hands, keeping the thickness uniform. Let fry until golden (about 6 minutes), then flip. Keep warm in oven (200 F).
Serve with apple sauce and sour cream. Serves 4-8.
Emily L. Hauser - In My Head 
socioprof
/ February 21, 2013If you need a taste-tester, let me know…
errinspelling.wordpress.com
/ February 21, 2013it’s always hamantaschen time, in my head ,if you knew me…..lol, but i am going to try your potato latke recipe .
CitizenE
/ February 21, 2013It is easier to make a decent latke (the best ever was made by my brother-in-law’s late mother–no Chanukah get together at my sister’s took less than an hour of nonstop batches to requite our hunger for their deliciosity–sour cream also a good garnish), not that yours lacks excellence–please repost next December) than passable hamentaschen: recipe darling?
watson42
/ February 21, 2013Dammit, now I’m hungry.
Jueseppi B.
/ February 21, 2013Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat.Com™ and commented:
A recipe for latkes….thank you Ms. Emily L. Hauser.
Tenar Darell
/ February 21, 2013Dang it, now I want hamantaschen and latkes and sour cream! (And you know you can’t have just one latke, it’s against the law!)
emilylhauser
/ February 21, 2013This is why, when I make them, I basically make nothing else. Because when I’m eating latkes, all I want is more latkes.
caoil
/ February 21, 2013Can you do them sans eggs? I should dig around a little.
caoil
/ February 21, 2013Aha! http://thekindlife.com/blog/post/vegan-latkes
Lisa
/ February 22, 2013We add a little bit of jalapeno in ours, it’s a great little touch. I think we do more onion, too. Man, now I want latkes, but they are such a once-a-year food… made hamantaschen for the first time this year, though. With caramel pecan filling. If you burn them a tiny bit they taste just like pecan tarts.
But there are many adequate cookies out there, and very few adequate replacements for the latke.
Shaun
/ February 25, 2013Latkes are best eaten with cinnamon sugar sprinkled over them. Posh latkes are half-and-half, potatoes and courgettes. Here ends my contribution to latke wisdom.
emilylhauser
/ February 25, 2013Cinnamon… sugar…?
/walks away muttering about kids these days.