Zesty Swordfish Kabobs with Latkes

Mmmmmmmmmm! I know I just had my regular fruit breakfast, but I'm ready for dinner whenever I look at this picture and remember this meal. Delicious! I paired savory Swordfish kabobs prepared with a slightly citrus marinade with the warmth and (unhealthy) flavors of latkes. To top it all off I served up some Zucchini Sticks that have been featured before. This savory meal hit the spot and left me wishing I could whip this up every day.

As you read ahead I must warn you that latkes are far from healthy. While delicious, these potato pancakes can only be made to their full taste when they are fried. There is simply no way to duplicate the taste. So rather than spend your hours making baked latkes that simply fall flat, go for the full-fat fried version but eat them in limited quantity. Think of it as splurging on a dessert! I only whip up these pancakes a few times each year, but when I do I know I can enjoy them to their full extent.

Zesty Swordfish Kabobs
We'll start with the fish since you'll want to get it marinading with plenty of time to spare. You'll find the recipe very easy to follow. Most of the work is combining all of the ingredients in the marinade. Make sure you cut up your swordfish into the 1 inch cubes before putting them in with the marinade sauce. This allows them to coat all the sides of their cubes for full flavor and also keeps you from making a huge mess later.

Cut up the green onions and red peppers while the swordfish marinates. Then string everything together, stick it on a kabob stick, and you're ready to go. I used my indoor Foreman Grill since I lack a backyard, but the real thing is always preferred when possible. Just toss it on for a short while and enjoy! And doesn't it look pretty?

Note: Citrus flavors will actually start to cook the fish (think Seviche) so you should not leave the Swordfish marinating for longer than the instructed 30 minutes. Plan your meal ahead of time so you can follow that timeline and still have everything finish at least roughly together.

Latkes
And now it's time for one of my favorite foods of all time - latkes! Traditionally enjoyed on Hanukkah by Ashkenazi Jews (hey, that's half of me) these fried potato pancakes are delicious all days of the year. Random trivia: they are enjoyed on Hanukkah because the oil they are fried in represents the oil that burned for 8 days in the first Hanukkah miracle. And that is why you still must fry them today...!

Ingredients:
Potatoes
Onions
Eggs
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Matzah
Vegetable Oil

Tools:
Cheese Cloth

First, wash your potatoes but leave the skin on. Next you'll need to shred them. The easiest way to do this is if you have a food processor, such as Cuisinart, that has a shredding blade. Keep in mind you don't want to use a typical metal blade that will puree these potatoes but rather shred them in short strings like you would see carrots look like in a salad. My food processor has a metal plate that goes in almost upside down to be used as a shredder. If you don't have a machine, I've done this by hand before, but you might want to invite some friends to avoid taking all day. Shred the onions in the same way at the same time as the potatoes. I use 5 lbs of potatoes (one bag) and 1 large or 2 medium onions. This makes plenty of latkes for 4-5 people.

Place a large piece of cheese cloth in a colander and dump the shredded potato and onion into it. Pull up the corners of the cheesecloth so the potato and onion are encased in the mesh cloth. Now squeeze all over, for quite a while, to remove all of the moisture. This can be a pain, but take care to perform this part correctly to save you problems later. All of the moisture must be removed so that the latkes stick together later on when they are formed into patties.

Once all of the moisture has been squeezed out of the potatoes and onions dump them into a large bowl. You can now discard the used cheesecloth. Put a single sheet of matzah into a plastic bag and use a rolling pan to mash it into crumbs. Add the matzah crumbs to the mixture. Add two eggs to the mixture. Add as much kosher salt and black pepper as you'd like, remembering that salt may taste good here but it's not great for you. You can use other salt if you prefer but I believe kosher salt tastes best in latkes.

Get your oil heating. Pour vegetable oil into a large frying pan to a depth of about 1/2 - 3/4 of an inch. Cover the oil and turn the heat to medium or medium high. As the oil is heating, mix everything together. It is easiest to use your hands. Just make sure they are clean and don't worry about the mess. Use your hands to mix the egg, potato, onion, matzah, and spices together.

You can see if your oil is ready for frying by dropping one or two small drops of water into it. If it spurts and sizzles then it's ready - but be careful because hot oil is not fun when it touches your skin. Use the lid to shield yourself as you test the oil and make sure to wear an apron or old clothes throughout this entire process. You want to keep the oil hot so that it sizzles when a latke is place into it but you do not want it to be actively boiling at any point.

Once your oil is ready, use your hands to make a patty out of the latke mixture. Place it gently into the hot oil to avoid splatter. Place as many patties as fit into the pan, leaving room to be able to flip them. The oil should sizzle around the latkes. When the side facing down is browned and the brown has creeped at least halfway up the latke's sides (you can see this without flipping) then flip the latkes. Let them brown evenly on the other side as well. Once they are cooked remove them with a slotted spatula, shaking gently to remove excess oil. Continue with the mixture until all of the latkes are fried.

I put paper towels on a plate before placing the latkes on them to help soak up extra oil and then use paper towels between every layer. This might not be perfect but hopefully it helps.

Serve your latkes with apple sauce (my favorite) or sour cream and enjoy!