Crisp, golden potato latkes smashed thin on a dinner tray and topped with sautéed mushrooms, wilted spinach, dollops of chive sour cream and applesauce for a sweet-savory contrast.
Tray-Ready Latkes with Mushroom & Spinach Toppings
Crisp, paper-thin latkes pile up on a rimmed tray and get finished with sautéed mushrooms, wilted spinach, chive sour cream and applesauce for a lively sweet‑savory dinner.
These are latkes turned into a shareable dinner: russet potatoes and yellow onion grated coarsely, squeezed dry, then bound with eggs and matzo meal for a golden, ultra-crisp base. The contrast between the crackly browned edges and the tender shreds inside is the whole point—each bite should give a little crunch and then melt into soft potato.
A few practical steps make the difference. Grating the onion into the potato bowl captures its juices, and a hard squeeze in a towel removes moisture so the latkes fry up without steaming. Letting the batter rest for 5 minutes hydrates the matzo meal so the patties hold together, and popping finished latkes on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet in a 225°F oven keeps them hot and crisp while you cook the batch.
Toppings turn humble latkes into a full meal: sliced cremini mushrooms sautéed with garlic and finished with a squeeze of lemon, quick wilted baby spinach, spoonfuls of sour cream laced with chives, plus applesauce for that classic sweet‑savory echo. The mushrooms’ earthiness and the bright lemon on the spinach balance the richness of fried potato, while chive sour cream adds cool, oniony tang.
From Sam Rivera at Sabbath Table Studio, this recipe is designed with kosher home cooking and realistic timing in mind—assemble the chive sour cream and applesauce ahead, keep latkes warm on the tray, and finish the mushrooms and spinach just before serving. It’s easy to scale for a cozy Sabbath dinner or a casual weeknight spread where everyone grabs a latke and piles on their favorite toppings.
Ingredients
How to Make Potato Latke Smash Dinner Tray
- Warm the oven to 225°F and set a rimmed baking sheet with a wire rack on it to keep fried latkes crisp as you cook.
- Peel the potatoes and coarsely grate them into a large bowl using the large holes of a box grater; grate the onion into the same bowl to capture its juices.
- Cover the grated mixture with cold water and swish briefly, then drain into a colander and gather the potato-onion in a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth and squeeze hard to remove as much moisture as possible.
- Return the drained potatoes and onion to the bowl, add the eggs, matzo meal, kosher salt and black pepper, and stir until evenly combined; let the mixture rest 5 minutes so the matzo meal hydrates.
- Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high and add 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil; drop 3-tablespoon mounds of batter into the pan, flattening each with a spatula to form 3–4-inch patties, and fry 3–4 minutes per side until deep golden and crisp.
- Transfer fried latkes to the rack-lined baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven while you fry the remaining batches, adding more oil to the pan as needed but keeping the oil level to about 1/8 inch.
- When all latkes are fried, increase the oven to 425°F, arrange latkes on a clean rimmed baking sheet, press each gently with a sturdy spatula to flatten to about 1/4 inch, brush or very lightly drizzle with remaining oil, and bake 8–10 minutes to finish and intensify the crispiness.
- While the latkes finish in the oven, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium-high, add sliced mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and any liquid evaporates, then add minced garlic, lemon juice and baby spinach and cook just until the spinach wilts; season to taste with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Stir the sour cream with half the chopped chives and a pinch of black pepper, then arrange the finished latkes on a large serving tray, top with the mushroom-spinach mixture, dollop the chive sour cream and spoon applesauce alongside; sprinkle with remaining chives and serve immediately.
Recipe Card
Potato Latke Smash Dinner Tray
Crisp, golden potato latkes smashed thin on a dinner tray and topped with sautéed mushrooms, wilted spinach, dollops of chive sour cream and applesauce for a sweet-savory contrast.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Servings
- 4
Ingredients
Instructions
- Warm the oven to 225°F and set a rimmed baking sheet with a wire rack on it to keep fried latkes crisp as you cook.
- Peel the potatoes and coarsely grate them into a large bowl using the large holes of a box grater; grate the onion into the same bowl to capture its juices.
- Cover the grated mixture with cold water and swish briefly, then drain into a colander and gather the potato-onion in a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth and squeeze hard to remove as much moisture as possible.
- Return the drained potatoes and onion to the bowl, add the eggs, matzo meal, kosher salt and black pepper, and stir until evenly combined; let the mixture rest 5 minutes so the matzo meal hydrates.
- Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high and add 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil; drop 3-tablespoon mounds of batter into the pan, flattening each with a spatula to form 3–4-inch patties, and fry 3–4 minutes per side until deep golden and crisp.
- Transfer fried latkes to the rack-lined baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven while you fry the remaining batches, adding more oil to the pan as needed but keeping the oil level to about 1/8 inch.
- When all latkes are fried, increase the oven to 425°F, arrange latkes on a clean rimmed baking sheet, press each gently with a sturdy spatula to flatten to about 1/4 inch, brush or very lightly drizzle with remaining oil, and bake 8–10 minutes to finish and intensify the crispiness.
- While the latkes finish in the oven, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium-high, add sliced mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and any liquid evaporates, then add minced garlic, lemon juice and baby spinach and cook just until the spinach wilts; season to taste with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Stir the sour cream with half the chopped chives and a pinch of black pepper, then arrange the finished latkes on a large serving tray, top with the mushroom-spinach mixture, dollop the chive sour cream and spoon applesauce alongside; sprinkle with remaining chives and serve immediately.
Nutrition
- Carbohydrates
- 60
- Saturated Fat
- 7
- Sodium
- 900
- Fiber
- 7
- Unsaturated Fat
- 19
- Protein
- 14
- Fat
- 28
- Cholesterol
- 103
- Trans Fat
- 0
- Calories
- 510
- Sugar
- 9