The Latkes That Sustained a Family Through Famine

Shared by Elizaveta Vigonskaia 
Recipe Roots: Kyiv, Ukraine > Long Beach, CA > Brooklyn 

“Everything was my mom,” Elizaveta Vigonskaia says in a lyrical Russian accent. “She was the one who was proud of us, she was the one who was [a] bowl of sun in our home.” Elizaveta was always with her mother, Ester Raize, learning how she cooked and how she moved strongly through life. “We were one person, I still remember,” she says. 

Elizaveta remembers in 1941 when her father was drafted and left to fight in World War II. He told Ester to stay in Kyiv where they lived and wait for him to return from the war. Instead, she fled the city with Elizaveta and her brother, and a friend and her two children. Together, they made it onto the last train out of the city, Elizaveta recalls, making their way to the Ural mountain region farther east. A week later, Nazi forces arrived in Kyiv and massacred over 30,000 Jews at Babi Yar.  

In 1945, Elizaveta, her mother, and brother returned to Kyiv and her father came home from the war. By 1946, Elizaveta had another brother and the Soviet Famine of 1946 and 1947 had taken hold in Kyiv. Elizaveta recalls waiting three, four, and sometimes even five hours in line for a loaf of bread that she would bring home to share. “My mom tried everything” to ensure the family survived, Elizaveta explains. A doctor prescribed fish oil, which could be sourced from a pharmacy, to provide nourishment. Ester used it to fry the few potatoes she could gather, making latkes to sustain the family.

In time, the Soviet Famine ended and Elizaveta recalls her mother making latkes at holidays when potatoes and onions were easier to come by. As Elizaveta became an adult, she too made latkes, but never with fish oil. The scent, and even the memory of it, still recalls the years after the war when food was scarce. 

Today, Elizaveta makes latkes for her family often. Her rendition nods to abundance, topping potato pancakes with rich braised beef. It’s a recipe and tradition she brought with her when she left Ukraine in 1991 for California, the year after her mother passed, and to New York where she retired.

The family has kept Ester’s memory alive in the years since. Elizaveta’s son fondly remembers his grandmother, referring to her as “flower” in Russian. Ester’s legacy extends beyond her memory though. It is a way of existing as an intertwined unit. “In my family [with my mother], There was love, care, and friendship,” Elizaveta says. “And now, I have the same in my son’s family.” 

Editor’s Note: This story and Elizaveta came to the archive through Selfhelp, a non-profit organization focused on providing services to elderly New Yorkers. It is also the largest provider of services to Holocaust survivors in North America. Learn more about Selfhelp here. 

Latkes with Short Ribs

Makes: 4 - 6 Servings
Total Time: 3 hours and 30 minutes

Ingredients
For the stew:
2 pounds bone-in short ribs, cut across the bone into 2½ -inch pieces
1½ tablespoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable or grape seed oil
5 kernels whole allspice
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

For the latkes:
1 yellow onion, peeled
4 large russet potatoes, peeled
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
1½ tablespoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

For garnish:
3 - 5 sprigs fresh dill or parsley

Preparation

1. Make the beef stew: Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Place 2 tablespoons of oil into a large pot over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, gently add the short ribs and sear on all sides until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the meat onto a plate and reduce the heat to medium. Add the onions and garlic and saute until soft, about 15 minutes. Add the seared meat back into the pot, along with the allspice and add enough water to cover the beef about ¾ the way up. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and cook covered. Cook at a gentle simmer for about 3 hours, or until the meat is tender and the liquid reduced in half into a stew-like consistency.

2. Make the latke mix: Grate the onion and potatoes with a box grater or in a food processor. Wrap the grated onions and potatoes with a tea towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible into a bowl. After about 5 minutes the potato starch in the liquid will settle at the bottom of the bowl. Gently drain out the water and then scrape off the potato starch from the bowl. Add the potato starch, onions, and potatoes into a separate mixing bowl. Add the flour, eggs, salt and pepper into the bowl and mix the ingredients until combined well.

3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

4. Fry the latkes: Place a large skillet over medium high heat and add about 1-inch of oil. Once the oil is sizzling, take 1½ tablespoons of the latke mix into your palm and shape into a flat disk that is about 3 inches wide. Gently place the latke into the oil. Repeat the process, adding 4 or 5 more latkes to the pan. Be sure to not overcrowd the pan. Fry the latkes on both sides until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel lined tray and continue frying the latkes in batches with the remaining mix. 

5. Roast the latkes with the short ribs stew: Once the stew is ready, place the latkes in one layer onto a baking pan. Once the short ribs are cool enough to handle, shred the beef and discard the bones. Gently place a dollop of short ribs over each latke. Pour the stew liquids over the latkes. Place the baking pan into the oven and reduce the heat to 350. Bake for 15 minutes or until the latkes have absorbed some of the stew and the flavors of the beef. 

6. Serve hot with a few sprigs of fresh dill or parsley.