Latke variations, improving on a good thing

By Olga Berman

Hanukkah started last Friday and many of you are spending the week making potato latkes. While the typical recipe for potato latkes uses regular potatoes, why not try something a little different? And I’m not talking about using sweet potatoes: after all, those are very similar to the regular white potatoes.

Why not use carrots and broccoli stems instead? The two recipes below don’t take much time to put together, are full of nutrients and add bright color to your table.

Broccoli Latkes

Ingredients
2 broccoli stems/stalks
1/2 onion
2 eggs
2/3 cups panko crumbs (if you don’t have panko crumbs, use bread crumbs)
salt & pepper
oil
sour cream

Directions
1) In a food processor (or using a hand grater) grate broccoli stems and onion.
2) In a bowl whisk together two eggs, then add panko crumbs and broccoli/onion mixture.
3) Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
4) Heat a pan, add oil, then form pancakes and cook them for about 4-5 minutes on each side. Fish spatula is a great tool for flipping these.
5) Serve with sour cream.

Carrot Latkes

Ingredients

6 large carrots, peeled

1/4 red onion

2 eggs

salt & pepper to taste

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

oil for sautéing

Directions

1. In a food processor grate carrots and onions. (If you don’t have a food processor, use a grater.)

2. In a bowl, combine grated carrots, onions, eggs, panko bread crumbs, cayenne and season with salt and pepper. Mix well.

3. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Make a little pancake and cook it for 4 minutes on each side: for best results, use a fish spatula when flipping the pancake. Fish spatulas are thin, flexible and are made from metal: they will prevent the pancakes from being broken apart.

4. Taste the carrot latke that you’ve made. Does it need more salt? More pepper? Can it use more heat? Adjust your carrot mixture accordingly.

5. Repeat step #3 with the remaining carrot mixture.

As with all of my recipes, this is one quite versatile.  You can use any variety of spices in this recipe: curry powder, turmeric, cumin, or even chili. Or you can make this recipe on a sweeter side by adding a bit of sugar and raisins and leaving cayenne behind.

Olga Berman spends her free time cooking, salsa dancing and traveling.  Check out more recipes from Olga’s collection at Mango & Tomato and feel free to contact Olga at orchidgirl1979@gmail.com if you have any cooking questions.