Holiday Soup Redux Part One—Hanukkah: Apple/Carrot Soup topped with Latke Fritters

I realize that I am a little late on the Hanukkah soup bandwagon, however I decided that I wanted to write a soup recipe article on how to turn a traditional holiday meals into a soup. So, without leaving any holidays out I am taking a "better late than never" approach with this soup for Hanukkah. As a three-part article (part two-Christmas and part three-Kwanza), this soupy features a twist on the potato latke that I converted into an apple/carrot soup topped with latke fritters.

Apple/Carrot Soup with Latke Fritters

Part One-Apple Soup

Ingredients:
3 pounds of apples (I used Gala)
2 cups of water
1 cup of chicken broth
1 cup of apple cider
1/2 bag of carrots
1/2 of yellow onion, chopped up
1 parsnip
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of sugar
pinch of salt

 

Apples, Carrots, Parsnips, and Onions Cooking

Directions:
Add stock, water, and apple cider into a pot and let boil. Peel the apples and cut them into squares, making sure to remove the core. Cut up the parsnips and carrots into squares and add them and the apples to the pot and let cook for 30-45 minutes. Add nutmeg, cinnamon and sugar and let cook for another 10-15 minutes, making sure to check that the apples are soft. Add salt to taste. Turn off the flame and grind all the ingredients together with a hand blender to make an apple/carrot puree. I left it semi-chunky, but ended up adding a little more apple cider at this point to release more of the apple flavors. Set aside as the latke fritters are prepared.

Puree of Apple Soup

Part Two- Latke Fritters, adapted and modified from www.epicurious.com

Since latke's aren't a soup-based component I decided that using a recipe as a base for this experiment would be helpful. I included the link above, however it was modified based on my experience.

 

   Mash of potatoes and onions

Ingredients:
 5-6 potatoes
1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil
sour cream for garnish, optional
2 cups of cold water

Latke's Sizzling

Directions:
 Peel the potatoes and grate them. Place them into the bowl with water as they are grated. When finished drain the potatoes very well and set aside. Peel the onion and chopping up into small squares. Place in a small bowl and blend finely with a hand mixer. You can also chop the union up until it gets very small, but I found that the hand blender gave me a better consistency. Blend the potatoes and onions together, making sure to drain as much liquid as possible. Add the egg and salt to the bowl and mix. Place oil in pan over a medium heat and let it warm up. With a teaspoon scoop the latke mix and place on the pan (since this is for smaller fritter-type latke I used a teaspoon for more traditional ones a tablespoon should be sufficient). Reduce the heat and let cook for 5-10 minutes or until both sides are brown. Pour the soup into a bowl, top with 2 latke fritters, add sour cream (optional), and enjoy!

The soup turned out really well-if I do say so myself! I really enjoyed the fusion of apples and carrots with the potato latke that created a subtle taste that was slightly sweet and spiced. It also was basic enough to create any time of year, or even varied up with an apple/squash or an apple/turnip medley, along with the yummy fritters!

Seriously Soupy Serena

You can also check out this handy book about the history of latkes and various methods of preparation.