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Chef Yehuda Sichel’s Latke Secrets

We pried potato pancake preferences from a few of our favorite chefs around the country — and compiled them into a tell-all to help you make the best latkes of your life.

Image by Anya Ulinich

Chef
Yehuda Sichel

Restaurant
Abe Fisher, Philadelphia

Secret ingredient?
I use flour, which is not for everyone, but I think it makes them fluffier.

Type of oil used for frying?
Canola oil works best. However, if you are not worried about being vegetarian, I love to use schmaltz to fry them in!

What’s the one thing home cooks should not do?
I think the most important thing to remember is to not overcomplicate it. The latke doesn’t need that many ingredients to be delicious.

Preferred potato?
I prefer Idaho!

Applesauce, sour cream or other?
I know this isn’t traditional, but I love to put ketchup on my latkes.

Main components of your recipe?
I like to keep it simple and use only eggs, flour, potato and salt.

More Chefs’ Latke Secrets

Michael Kaminer is a contributing editor at the Forward. Contact him at [email protected]

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