Cut away ends of onion, peel and cut into quarters.
Scrub Potatoes, peel and place into a large bowl of water + 1 Tablespoon White Vinegar.
Use a shredding blade in your food processor and turn on motor.
Slice potatoes lengthwise and alternate adding potatoes and onions into shoot of Food Processor.
Remove approximately 80-90% of onion and potato from food processor and put it into the bowl of vinegar water.
Use the food processor's regular mixing blade and pulse, three times, the remaining potatoes and onion.
Add the chopped potatoes and onions into the bowl with the rest of the potatoes and onions and let soak for a couple of minutes.
Place butter in microwave safe bowl and melt. About 10 seconds is enough. Remove from micro and set aside to cool.
Little by little, squeeze out potatoes and onions in a cheesecloth and place each squeezed section into a large colander.
Place colander of potatoes and onions over bowl of water.
Press and squeeze potatoes and onions so that any excess water drains into the bowl. the drier the mixture, the better!
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, salt, pepper and melted butter.
Remove colander from over bowl and dump onions and potatoes into a large mixing bowl.
Sprinkle matzo meal (or potato starch), chopped chives, chia seeds (if using) and baking powder over shredded potatoes and onions. Mix it all in really well!
Slowly and gently drain out water from bowl, being careful to allow the thick potato starch remain in the bottom of the bowl. Scoop out the starch from the bowl and add to latkes mixture.
Air Fryer Baking
Use a cookie scoop place scoops onto flat surface and dust on a bit of potato starch. With a spatula or fork, flatten latkes to nor more than 1/4 thick.
Spray one side of Latkes well with Oil. Place oil side down in well oiled Air Fryer. Generously spray Latkes with Oil. (Alternatively, dip latkes in a bowl of oil and place in air fryer.)
Air Fry at 380 degrees for 9 minutes, turning over after 5 minutes. Serve with Applesauce and Sour Cream.
Stove Top Directions
Heat 1/4-1/2 inch of oil in skillet over medium-high heat.
Place dollops of latke mixture into skillet and flatten with fork.
Fry for about 5-7 minutes, turning after ends begin to brown.
Place latkes on the inside of a brown paper bag or on paper towels.
Notes
A box grater or Cuisinart Large Food is the best way to grate the potatoes.Soaking the potatoes will make for better latkes. Plus, the starch from the potato water is awesome to add into the mix, which will help crisp up the latkes.Baking Powder adds to the fluffiness of the Latkes. Traditionalists did not use it, so if you want to stay to old world tradition, don't use it. For a fluffier Latkes, toss it into the batter.Some people peel the potatoes, others do not. Try them both ways and see which you prefer. I do them both ways.Chia Seeds, while not traditional are totally delish in latkes. A tiny bit helps keep the batter together by absorbing some liquid, which makes for a moist inside and crispy outside. Plus since they expand, by the time you get to the last one to two batches, you'll get a bit of a chewiness, which I really like.Traditional Latkes
To keep the latkes traditional with the oil, you can always dip the latkes in the oil and then use the air fryer, so that would make them closer to traditional without pan frying and without all the splatter all over your oven!
For savory Thanksgiving latkes try adding garlic powder, nutmeg and allspice. A bit of pumpkin spice is great too!