Making Potato Latkes with Kids (+ Holiday Sale)

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One year, when my daughter was young, I was invited to her classroom to make Potato Latkes, a traditional recipe for Hanukkah. Before I knew it, teachers and students from all over campus were following their noses to our room hoping for a taste!

Latkes are an excellent recipe to make with students because there is a lot of work involved. It seems counterintuitive that you would want recipes that have many steps when working with kids. However, when there is an entire room filled with eager volunteers, it’s ideal when there is a lot to do!

Kids cooking in a classroom

How can kids get involved?

In this recipe, many students can get involved with scrubbing the potatoes or peeling them. I usually prefer to keep the skins on because they contain lots of nutrients.
If you are using a food processor to shred the potatoes, each student can take a turn adding a chunk of potato to watch it become transformed into what will ultimately look like a bird’s nest.
If not, many hands can make light work with several box graters…as long as they don’t grate their knuckles. Yuk!
Other kids might enjoy cracking and beating eggs with a small whisk or fork.
Another group can measure the flour, peel the paper skins from the onions and grate them.
And for kids who can benefit from a little extra sensory stimulation, it’s really fun to mix the entire mixture together with clean hands!
Don’t be worried about frying the latkes – all it takes is an attentive volunteer to supervise (and maybe flip the latkes).

Yes, of course – you can have the recipe. It can also be found in my Hanukkah Lesson plan, where I give specific instructions for what kids can do – and I even include a processing activity for Interactive Notebooks! (Psst. It is going on Sale for the Holidays!)

Potato Latkes
Recipe from The Whole Family Cookbook, by Michelle Stern

Ingredients:
1 pound russet potatoes, organic if possible 1⁄2 cup yellow onion, finely shredded
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 Tablespoons flour
1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
1⁄2 – 3⁄4 cup canola oil
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Directions:

Peel the potatoes (optional).
Grate the potatoes in batches, using the fine grating blade of a food processor or a box  grater.
As you need more space in the food processor, transfer the grated potatoes into a large  bowl of cold water to prevent them from turning brown.
Add the onion to the food processor and grate.
Once all of the potatoes and onion have been grated, drain them in a colander.
Spread grated potatoes and onion on a kitchen towel.
Roll up the towel and twist the ends tightly to wring out as much liquid as possible.
Transfer grated potatoes and onion to a large mixing bowl.
Measure the flour and salt, and stir them into the potatoes.
In a separate small bowl, crack the egg, making sure to fish out any stray shells.
Lightly beat the egg with a fork or whisk and pour it over the potato mixture.
Stir to combine with a spoon or with clean hands.

To Cook the Latkes:

Heat 1/4 cup oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot.
Working in small batches of 4 latkes at a time, scoop two Tablespoons of the potato mixture into the skillet, flattening the pile gently with the back of the spoon.
Reduce heat to medium and cook each side until the bottom of each latke is browned, about 5 minutes per side.

Drain the Latkes before serving:

Cut open a grocery bag and lay it on the counter.
Using a slotted spatula, remove the latkes from the oil and place them onto the brown paper bag to drain.
Sprinkle with kosher salt.
Add more oil to the skillet, as needed, and repeat with the remaining shredded potato mixture.
Keep the latkes warm by placing them on a wire rack set on top of a baking sheet in the oven.

I am pretty excited to share my new Teachers Pay Teachers online store, where I am sharing Cooking with Kids lesson plans. I just opened my store less than a month ago and have been working my tail off to put together a series of holiday lesson plans (Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa!) for you to share with your students. They contain lesson plans, printable recipes for students to bring home, suggested cooking tools and teaching strategies and even interdisciplinary activities to reinforce learning! I’m even having a holiday sale on 11/30-12/1 – so please take a peek and let your friends and colleagues know. The lesson plans are a smokin’ deal. Seriously. Just a couple of bucks each.

Happy holidays! I’ll be back in a couple of weeks after we move. Yes, I really have been busy!

xo
M.

PS – Here are some other incredible educators on Teachers Pay Teachers who are hosting sales.