This combines three of my favorite things, latkes, bagels and crispy crunchy noodles. When I first cooked Umi Organic's yakisoba noodles I was blown away by how incredibly crispy and delicious the noodles were, and I really wanted to highlight that!
-Althea Grey Potter
Recipe by Althea Grey Potter
Born in 1983 in Maine
Lives in Portland, OR
Profession: Chef/hot sauce maker/owner of The Flavor Society
Leisure: Cooking (it's my job but I also really love it), camping, hiking, long walks with my husband, Matt, and our dog, Crouton
Word of the day: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Childhood cuisine: "Hippie" food with international flavors
Umi Notes: While latkes are usually made during Hanukkah, Althea’s creative version are wonderful any time of year. They come together easily and are so charming—crispy and chewy at once. Althea invited me over along with Shawn, our photographer, for a late brunch, and I couldn’t get enough. This is a perfect brunch food! Mixing and matching from Althea’s platter of toppings is so fun. Don’t miss Althea’s yogurt and dill sauce, and more importantly, her Flavor Society chili oil! I wish I could eat one right now!
Makes about 16 yakisoba “latkes” or 5 servings (3 latkes per person plus one extra!)
Greek Yogurt Sauce with Dill + Lemon:
1 cup plain full fat greek yogurt
6 sprigs dill, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, finely minced
1 lemon, juice and zest
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Latkes:
1 package (1 pound) Umi Organic Yakisoba Noodles
2 medium leeks, white parts only, julienned
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 eggs
3 tablespoons rice flour or cornstarch
Neutral oil for frying (I like organic high oleic sunflower seed oil)
Accoutrements + assembly:
The Flavor Society's Bagel Crunchy Sauce
Smoked trout or salmon or caviar or salmon roe
Cucumbers, thinly sliced
Radishes, thinly sliced
Red onion, thinly sliced
Avocado, sliced
Eggs, boiled for 6 minutes so the white is set but the yolk is still runny
Dill sprigs
Lemon Wedges
Directions
For the yogurt sauce, mix all ingredients together. Prepare all of your accoutrements and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. To remove some of the intensity, Althea soaks her thinly sliced onion in an ice bath. She recommends doing this shortly before eating because cut onion that sits out for a long time can take on funny flavors.
For the latkes: Separate noodles gently with your hands. Combine in a large bowl with leeks, rice flour, eggs and salt. Mix thoroughly. Heat 3/4 of an inch of oil over medium heat in a large cast iron or nonstick skillet. Test to see if the oil is hot enough by dropping 1 noodle in. If it sizzles, it's ready! Form latkes with your hands, gently pressing together, but leave some noodles loose at the edge to encourage extra crispy bits. Carefully place the noodle cakes in the hot oil. Press gently with a spatula so that they stick together. Cook until lightly browned and crispy on one side and then flip and do the same on the other side. Store in a low oven (say 220 degrees) until ready to eat.
Serve hot with all the accoutrements and let people choose their own toppings!
Photos by Shawn Linehan.
