How to make fried pickle latkes for Hanukkah

Happy Hanukkah! What better way to kick off the start of Judaism's eight-night long Festival of Lights than with a reinvented latke recipe.

Amy Kritzer Becker, a food blogger known for her Jewish fare on "What Jew Wanna Eat," told "Good Morning America" about her fried pickle latkes and how she first came up with the clever culinary mashup.

"Pickles and pickled foods are a staple in Jewish cooking. Included in everything from Jewish deli favorites to sabich sandwiches in Israel. So it made sense to combine my love for pickles with my love for latkes," she said.

Kritzer, who frequently ate fried pickles dipped in ranch as a late-night snack while living in Texas, said she realized "latke batter could be a perfect crust for a fried pickle."

"The best latkes are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, and these have an extra crunch from the pickle slice," she explained. "I dried the pickles very well and coated them in a little potato starch to help keep the latke crispy."

Plus, she added some fried-pickle-inspired spices to the raw potato mixture, too.

Check out the full recipe for how to make fried pickle latkes here.

Here's the ingredients you'll need to recreate the dish at home:
5 cups (about 2 pounds) russet potatoes, washed
2 eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon potato starch (optional)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 to 4 kosher dill pickles, sliced 1/4-inch thin and dried very well
1 teaspoon potato starch
1/2 cup canola oil

See the full preparation and cooking directions on What Jew Wanna Eat.

This story was originally published on Dec. 9. 2020.