E8 EZ EE THE WASHINGTON POST.WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2 , 2020
you are eating, because otherwise
it can be dangerous. I wash the
sprigs and pluck away the stem
running through the center, just
like rosemary. My chef’s knife
rocks back and forth on the
cutting board, mincing the vivid
green spice and filling the house
with a scent like sunlight. Mea-
suring half a teaspoon to cook in
the Alfredo, I set the rest aside.
Adding the herb as a garnish
provides a colorful contrast and
preserves the lemony flavor that
can otherwise disappear with the
heat. Steam rises from our plates,
and I think about the ways in
which creativity and curiosity
have always helped me persevere.
The kitchen is a mess now,
with sauce spilled across the
stovetop and a mountain of dish-
es piled in the sink. But I ignore it
all for now and sit down with my
family. Maybe it’s t he warm hygge
plate of carbs, or perhaps the
citrus-forest scent. But for a mo-
ment, these small joys make me
feel happy, safe and hopeful.
[email protected]distancing has freed me from any
self-imposed pressure to make
the complicated courses that I
used to punctuate the week with.
My dog wakes up from her nap
in a sunbeam. She stretches,
sniffing in the direction of the
pasta. I am making Douglas-fir
fettuccine Alfredo, or fettuccine
al burro, named for its rich butter
sauce, because the weather has
turned cold and there is not
much else to forage. The bright
citrus tang of Doug fir is welcome
when the days turn dreary, and I
use it as a wild alternative to
rosemary.
When I lived alone in the
woods as a teenager, I used to
steep a piney tea to stay warm.
These days, my dog trots behind
me as I search for a tree in our
neighborhood with branches low
enough that I can reach. The
leaves are most tender in the
spring when they are neon, but
they can be harvested year round,
making this literally an evergreen
recipe. The first rule of foraging is
to be certain that you know whathas become a welcome interrup-
tion of our work-from-home
schedules. We take turns making
pots of beans for lunch, salads or
unfussy sandwiches. Being un-
able to host elaborate dinner
parties with friends while socialStriving to make fewer trips to
the grocery store during the coro-
navirus pandemic has pushed me
to become more creative and less
precious about my culinary en-
deavors. Preparing meals every
day at home with my husbandindoors if it was raining or cold
outside.
Despite working seven days a
week, I could never save enough
money to persuade a landlord to
rent an apartment to a 14-year-
old girl and her two siblings.thick, chalklike layer of starch
into the potato mixture. To an-
swer the siren-call of promised
crunch, I add an additional table-
spoon of potato starch (though
cornstarch will do in a pinch) to
the mixture.
And then, I fry,
This Hanukkah, we will skip
the decadent accoutrements, as
they feel wrong against the back-
drop of such a difficult year. We’ll
forgo the caviar and the bubbles,
and instead keep it simple, with
plenty of sour cream and apple-
sauce.
And as we light the menorah
candles, we will wish for more
light and joy in the upcoming
year, looking forward to the time
when we can see our loved ones
and hug one another.
[email protected]that latter camp.
To m e a great latke is a decided-
ly crispy one, the kind that almost
shatters against your teeth with a
satisfying crunch. In the center,
there’s a bit of softer potato as
well. Like a great cookie, a great
latke needs both — the crispy and
the chewy — to be heavenly.
My latke recipe is simple and
not unlike many out there: pota-
toes, a little onion, eggs and flour.
I season the mixture with a gener-
ous helping of salt (don’t be
afraid to use a generous hand
here — the potatoes can handle
it) and a bit of ground black
pepper. Then I add my “secret”
ingredient, which is potato
starch. More starch and less liq-
uid equals a crispier (and thus
tastier) latke.
The idea to add extra starch
occurred to me one day while
patting dry chicken wings, which
I was about to coat in cornstarch
and then fry until crispy. What if,
I thought, I did the same with
latkes? Get rid of excess moisture
and up the starch content for
crispiness beyond compare.
I never looked back.
While the recipe is elementary
and pantry-friendly, it’s impor-
tant to start with the right kind of
potato. Russets, packed with
starch and relatively low in mois-
ture, are ideal.
Once they’re shredded, it is
important to drain the potatoes
of as much water as possible —
more liquid means a mushier
latke. I like to wrap my grated
potatoes in a cheesecloth bundle
and then twist, twist, twist and
squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. I drain
that excess liquid into a bowl,
which I let sit for a bit while I mix
in the other ingredients. Once the
starch in the drained liquid set-
tles on the bottom, I carefully
pour off the liquid and scrape the
LATKES FROM E1
Latkes are laced together
with holidays, but beg to
be revisited all year long
PHOTOS BY TOM MCCORKLE FOR THE WASHINGTON POST; FOOD STYLING BY LISA CHERKASKY FOR THE WASHINGTON POSTClassic Potato Latkes
4 to 6 servings
These straightforward classic latkes customary for Hanukkah meals
have one trick up their sleeve: extra potato starch. Once you drain the
extra liquid out of the shredded potatoes, save the starch in that liquid
and add it to your latke mixture. Plus, sneak in additional potato starch
to guarantee the crispiest latkes ever. Applesauce and/or sour cream are
traditional accompaniments, but if you’re feeling festive, salmon roe or
even caviar (with crème fraîche) are not out of the question.
From Olga Massov.Ingredients
l4 large russet potatoes (about 2
pounds 8 ounces total), peeled
l1 small yellow onion (4 to 6
ounces), finely grated
l2 large eggs, lightly whisked
l3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
l1 tablespoon potato starch (may
substitute cornstarch)
l1 tablespoon kosher salt, or
more to taste
lFreshly ground black pepper
lNeutral oil, such as vegetable or
canola, for frying
lApplesauce, for serving
(optional)lSour cream or crème fraîche,
for serving (optional)
lLox, for serving (optional)
lSalmon roe, for serving
(optional)
lFresh dill fronds, for garnish
(optional)Steps
lPosition a rack in the middle of
the oven and preheat to 200
degrees. Place a wire rack inside
a large, rimmed baking sheet.
lUsing a food processor fitted
with coarse grating attachment,
or the large holes of a box grater,grate the potatoes. Transfer to a
large piece of folded cheesecloth
set in a medium bowl. Twist into
a bundle and gently but firmly
squeeze out excess liquid into
the bowl. (You may need to do
this in batches.)
lEmpty the potatoes into a large
bowl. Let the liquid sit undis-turbed while you prepare the
latke mixture.
lPlace a large, heavy skillet, pref-
erably cast-iron, over medium
heat and warm while you mix
the latke mixture.
lAdd the onion, eggs, flour, pota-
to starch, salt and pepper to the
potatoes. Gently tilt the bowlwith the potato liquid to drain
out the water; you should see a
white layer of starch at the bot-
tom. Scrape the starch into the
bowl with the potatoes and gen-
tly mix all the ingredients to
combine.
lAdd enough oil to come^1 / 4 inch
up the sides of the skillet and
gently swirl the oil around —
when the oil gently ripples
across the surface, it is hot
enough for frying.
lWorking in batches, spoon be-
tween^1 / 4 and^1 / 3 cup potato mix-
ture per latke into the skillet;
you should be able to fit 4 to 5
latkes at a time. Fry the latkes
until golden brown on the bot-
tom, 2 to 3 minutes per side,
then, using a t hin metal spatula,
gently flip the latkes. (Your first
batch might take up to 4 min-
utes per side, but as the pan gets
hotter, the subsequent batches
will go faster. When you see the
frilly ends of the latke turn gold-
en brown, it’s time to flip.)
lTransfer the latkes to the pre-
pared baking sheet; place the
sheet in the oven to keep the
latkes warm. Repeat with the
remaining potato mixture, add-
ing more oil as needed; you may
need to adjust the heat with
subsequent batches if the latkes
start to brown too quickly. As
the potato mixture sits, liquid
may pool at the bottom of the
bowl; be sure to scoop the mix-
ture, draining away any water
before adding to the skillet.
lTransfer the latkes to a large
platter and serve warm, with
your choice of accompani-
ments, such as applesauce, sour
cream, lox, salmon roe and/or
dill, if desired.
Nutrition | Per serving (based on 6): 291
calories, 15 g protein, 41 g carbohydrates,
8 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 301 mg cholesterol,
68 5 mg sodium, 3 g dietary fiber, 2 g sugar
Recipe tested by Olga Massov; email
questions to [email protected]RECIPE FINDER.SEARCH MORE THAN 9,100 POST-TESTED RECIPES AT WASHINGTONPOST.COM/RECIPES.RECIPE QUESTIONS? EMAIL [email protected]because I could not think of
anywhere better to go other than
the place I needed to be in the
morning. I climbed the roof of the
auditorium and took a clumsy
parkour leap from the eave of my
English classroom’s window.
Tracing constellations with my
finger, I pulled my hoodie tight
against the cold. The glare of a
neon crucifix, perched on a hill
above the school, flooded the
football field with light. I closed
my eyes and tried to fall asleep.
The following night, I sneaked
into my mom’s house through a
window and packed my camping
gear. I set up my new home in a
cave above the Elwha River.
Sometimes I slept in an aban-
doned house in Eden Valley.
When it grew too cold, I stayed at
a hippie commune, in the goat
stable, but I left when the com-
mune became too dangerous. I
returned periodically to check on
my younger siblings, but Mom
would fly into an alcoholic rage,
so I spent most of high school
homeless.
With the pasta dough rolled
out, I carefully cut long, uniform
lines. I toss the pasta with a
handful of flour and think about
the foods I used to prepare in the
cave. I kept my favorite nonper-
ishables in a bear canister: in-
stant noodles, dehydrated miso
soup, granola bars and halvah. In
the spring, I sauteed fiddleheads
and horsetails in olive oil with my
compact camp stove. In summer,
I gorged on blackberries, deli-
cately picked bright red thimble-
berries and, when their pink
blossoms fell, hunted for the
electric hue of salmonberries. In
the fall I gathered apples from
wild orchards and scanned the
sepia leaves on the forest floor,
training my eye for a pop of
yellow chanterelle.
In winter I relied more on
eating lunch at school and at
work, or restocking my canister
with trips to the co-op near my
many after-school jobs. I worked
as a barista, landscaper, maid,
caregiver, caterer and pastry chef.
I also volunteered for Olympic
National Park’s revegetation crew
and as a tour guide at the local
aquarium. Volunteering and
working all the time distracted
me from everything going wrong
in my l ife — plus, I hoped it would
help me get into a good college far
away. Volunteering also meant I
could spend a few extra hours
HOMELESS FROM E1
Homeless, I foraged for wild food. The lessons still shape my cooking.
TOM MCCORKLE FOR THE WASHINGTON POST; FOOD STYLING BY LISA CHERKASKY FOR THE WASHINGTON POSTDouglas Fir Fettuccine Alfredo
4 servings
This recipe for classic fettuccine al burro calls for using a sprinkling
of the needles of a Douglas fir “as a wild alternative to rosemary.” Writer
Sabra Boyd, who was homeless as a teenager, foraged in the woods for
food and used to steep “piney tea to stay w arm.” She still forages for this
fir when making this dish at home. Fresh rosemary may be substituted.
Note: Before foraging for Douglas fir, or for any wild food, be sure you
are properly identifying the plant. Not all plants are edible.
Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Adapted from a recipe by Sabra Boyd.Ingredients
lKosher salt
l1 pound fettuccine pasta
l8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted
butter, cut into 8 pieces
l1 cup (about 3 ounces) grated
Parmesan cheese
l1 teaspoon minced Douglas fir
leaves, divided (may substitute
fresh rosemary)
lFreshly cracked black pepper,
for garnish (optional)Steps
lIn a large pot of salted boiling
water over medium-high heat,
cook the pasta according to
package instructions, until al
dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of
the pasta water.
lIn a large saucepan over low
heat, melt the butter. Add the
cheese and whisk until the
cheese has melted.
lAdd^3 / 4 cup of the hot pastawater to the butter-cheese slur-
ry, raise the heat to medium and
whisk until the mixture is
slightly reduced and uniform,
about 5 minutes. If the sauce is
too thick, whisk in additional
starchy water 1 tablespoon at a
time. Ta ste, and adjust the salt
as needed. Add^1 / 2 teaspoon
Douglas fir or rosemary and stir
to combine.
lAdd the drained fettuccine to
the saucepan; gently toss to
combine.
lTo serve, divide among the
plates and garnish with the
remaining^1 / 2 teaspoon Douglas
fir or rosemary. Top with a
pinch of freshly cracked black
pepper, if desired.
Nutrition | Per serving: 399 calories, 13 g
protein, 21 g carbohydrates, 29 g fat, 18 g
saturated fat, 103 mg cholesterol, 404 mg
sodium, 1 g dietary fiber, 1 g sugar
Recipe tested by Ann Maloney; email
questions to [email protected]Toppings r ange from the humble
(sour cream) to the decadent
(caviar), but at the heart of this
crispy, lacy, classic latke is the
right kind of potato. Russets,
packed with starch and relatively
low in moisture, are ideal.