By Brian Kevin
Photos by Ilán Rabchinskey
From our December 2024 issue
When Margaret Boyle was a child in Los Angeles, a visit to her Baba Malka meant a trip to Mexico City. It also meant she would eat well. Malka Poplawski, Boyle’s great-grandmother, immigrated to Mexico from Poland in the 1920s, and from her, Boyle learned early lessons about her Jewish
heritage, about the Spanish language, and about cooking.
Today, Boyle is an associate professor of Romance languages and literatures at Bowdoin College, as well as director of the college’s Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies Program. Her new book draws on her academic interests — food traditions, Hispanic women’s cultural history — but it also draws on Baba Malka’s recipes. Sabor Judío: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook (University of North Carolina Press, hardcover, $40) is a first-of-its-kind recipe collection, beautifully photographed by Ilán Rabchinskey, that also tells the centuries-long story of Jewish immigration to Mexico.
The book is co-written with another humanities professor, Ilan Stavans, of Amherst College, and it’s actually a Stavans family recipe that’s become a mainstay of Boyle’s family table at Janucá (that is, Hanukkah). Latkes con mole take the crisp simplicity of the shredded-potato staple and layer on the spicy, smoky depth of Mexico’s unofficial national condiment. “I love them with applesauce and sour cream too,” Boyle says, “but mole is next-level.”
Latkes con Mole
Serves 8
Preparation time: 1½ hours
INGREDIENTS
For the Latkes
4 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed and peeled
1 medium yellow onion, peeled
½ cup potato starch
1 tablespoon kosher salt
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
vegetable oil, for frying
For the Mole
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 small white onion, finely chopped
1 (8-ounce) jar prepared mole
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
For Serving
crumbled queso fresco
DIRECTIONS
1. Make the latkes: Line 2 large baking sheets with several layers of paper towels and set aside.
2. Grate the potatoes and onion on the large holes of a box grater. (Or cut them into quarters and shred using the shredding disc of a food processor.) Working in batches, wrap the shredded potatoes and onion in a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much water as possible.
3. Add the shredded potatoes and onion to a large bowl along with the potato starch, salt, and eggs. Mix until fully incorporated.
4. In a large frying pan, heat ¼ inch of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Working in batches of 4–5, drop ¼ cup of batter into the pan and press gently with a spatula to flatten slightly. Cook, flipping once, until browned on both sides and cooked through, 6–8 minutes per batch, then transfer to the prepared baking sheets to drain.
5. Continue with the remaining latke mixture, adding more oil as necessary and adjusting the heat up or down if the latkes are browning too quickly or not quickly enough. The latkes can be kept warm in the oven while preparing the mole.
6. Make the mole: Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook,
stirring often, until softened, 6–8 minutes.
7. Add a heaping tablespoon of the prepared mole, stirring to combine it with the onion, then add 1 cup of the broth. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reaches the consistency of thick soup.
8. Continue adding the prepared mole and the remaining broth, a little at a time, until both are completely used up. Continue cooking the mixture, stirring often, until it turns into a thick, rich sauce. Add the chocolate, stirring to melt, then remove from the heat.
9. Serve the latkes hot, topped with mole and crumbled queso fresco.
