A whole lotta Latkas

Tis’ the season! Not only for discount shopping, presents, gingerbread houses, and ornament dressed trees but also for candles, dreidels, and deep fried starches! Most importantly, fried potato pancakes called Latkes or Latkas (Google didn’t know either)…

Hanukkah was definitely a time when the BIG GUY was like “Hey, sorry about that whole matzah thing last spring. Here, have a fried potato pancake, and chase it with a jelly donut. Oh and please accept these 8 days of gifts and let’s just call it even!” Well, maybe that’s not exactly how it went but that’s how I see it.

Here are my 2 delicious and non-traditional style Latkes!

Zucchini Spinach Feta Latka:
2 zucchinis shredded
1 cup frozen spinach thawed & drained
1/2 cup frozen hashbrowns thawed
3 tablespoons (or more) crumbled feta
2 eggs
A generous sprinkle of flax seed powder, bread crumbs, and chickpea flour
Salt + Pepper + Onion PowderCurry Heirloom Carrot Latke:
2 purple heirloom carrots shredded
1 handful matchstick carrots
1/2 cup frozen hashbrowns thawed
2 eggs
A generous sprinkle of flax seed powder, bread crumbs, and chickpea flour
Salt + Pepper + Curry Powder + Garlic Powder + Ground Cinnamon

The recipe is the same for both – and really any variation of these magical potato patties – and couldn’t be any easier!

1. Prepare all ingredients and mix together in a big bowl.

2. Cover the entire skillet with a nice amount of safflower oil and put over medium/high heat.

3. Test the pan buy dropping a tiny bit of mixture in. The ingredients should sizzle and create tiny sparkling oil bubbles

4. Take large spoonfuls of mixture and add to the pan. 2 or 3 latkes at a time. Don’t crowd the pan. Press down and let it cook for 1 – 3 minutes on each side. Don’t move them around until you’re ready to flip.

5. Once they’re browned on one side flip to the other, press down again and let them sit until they’re brown on the other side.

5. Place a paper towel on a plate to capture the extra calories… I mean… oil. Once the latkes are cooked through and brown on both sides, remove from pan and place on the paper towel. Lightly salt immediately.6. Repeat until all of your mixture has turned into crispy delicious latkes.

Extra Credit:

I made a cucumber dill greek yogurt sauce that went amazingly well with both versions.

Mix 1 cup 0% Fage Greek Yogurt with 1 diced cucumber. Add dry dill, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Mix Mix. Dip dip. Chew chew. And have a Happy Happy Hanukkah!