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Avocado Latkes Breakfast Tacos

by
Amy Kritzer
March 18, 2021
Avocado Latkes Breakfast Tacos

Here in Austin, the recipes I create often combine local influences with Jewish traditions, from Hatch chile hummus, to Tex Mex sabich, to brisket braised in Shiner beer. I love to combine the heat of Texas cooking with the recipes of my youth. As Anthony Bourdain once said: “Only Texans and Jews understand brisket.”

That’s how I ended up making one of my favorite traditional Hanukkah recipes, latkes, into a dish Tex Mex that speaks to the non-Jews in my current Texas home. I mashed up the best breakfast taco fixins with my favorite fried treat to make a uniquely Texan dish for the Festival of Lights: avocado latkes breakfast tacos (recipe here). The result is spicy, cheesy, and has the perfect amount of grease to fuel you for eight days of dreidel games.

Featured in: Give Your Latkes a Taste of Texas

Great for: Hanukkah

Ingredients

For Pico de Gallo

  • 1medium tomato, seeded and small-diced
  • 2tablespoons white onion, small-diced
  • 1tablespoon cilantro, minced
  • Juice from one half lime
  • 1garlic clove, minced
  • One quarter teaspoon salt or to taste

For Avocado Latkes

  • 1 ½cups russet potatoes, peeled and shredded into a bowl of water
  • 1tablespoon onion, small-diced
  • One half medium avocado
  • 1egg, whisked
  • 1garlic clove, minced
  • ½teaspoon salt, plus more for garnish
  • 1jalapeño, small-diced
  • Oil for frying (grapeseed oil or canola oil work well)

For Assembly

  • 2flour tortillas (6-8 inches across)
  • 3eggs, scrambled
  • One quarter cup cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese
  • Avocado slices
  • 1jalapeño, sliced
  • Cilantro for garnish
Yield: Makes 2 servings

Preparation

To make the pico de gallo

  • Step 1

    Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the Avocado Latkes

  • Step 1

    Drain the potatoes into a mesh sieve into large bowl. Pour off the water, careful not to dump out the white gook on the bottom. That’s the starch! This will guarantee crispy latkes. Add onions to potatoes and press out as much moisture as possible using paper towels. Then add in the starch, avocado, egg, garlic, salt and 1 jalapeño.

  • Step 2

    Set aside paper towels for draining and have some salt ready. Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat and add oil. You want the oil to be hot enough that latke batter sizzles when place in oil, but doesn’t immediately brown. Place half the latke mixture in the pan, and flatten to about the size of your tortillas. Fry on one side until well browned, about 3-5 minutes. Then flip and fry the other side. Drain on paper towels and immediately sprinkle with salt because fried stuff tastes good with salt. Repeat with other latke.

To make the Assembly

  • Step 1

    Drain any oil from skillet and place tortillas on to warm. Top each tortilla with latke, eggs, cheese, avocado slices, pico de gallo, jalapeño slices, and more cilantro.