Although we are not Jewish, we have a long-standing tradition of making and eating them every year sometime during Hanukkah. It started when my boys were quite young, and I was just beginning to teach them about the history, principles, and faith practices of the major world religions.
As part of that introduction, we read the delightful children’s book, Latkes and Applesauce, A Hanukkah Story by Fran Manushkin, with illustrations by Robin Spowart. The book offers a recipe for potato latkes near the back, and my boys begged me to make it, which I was glad to do and have them help me with it.
We muddled through the recipe that first time (and several times thereafter, truth be told), but the results were delicious.
And so a happy family holiday tradition was born.
The latkes I’ve made have gone through several variations over the years.