Recipe: Scraps Latkes (using any root vegetable)

SCRAPS LATKES

"Traditionally fried up during Hanukkah, latkes are simply pancakes made of shredded potatoes bound with eggs. This version uses any kind of scraps you may have, such as odds and ends that remain after cutting up and trimming vegetables for a soup. Just throw the vegetable ends in the food processor with the grating attachment to shred them."



"These crispy mini-latkes make a delicious appetizer with sour cream and applesauce any time of the year.

Note: If you don't have scraps, just use one whole carrot, one beet, and one russet potato."

3 cups peeled and grated raw root vegetables or tubers, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, parsnips, turnips, or celery root
1⁄4 onion, very thinly sliced or shredded in a food processor
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil or vegetable oil
Sour cream and applesauce, to serve

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.

Place the grated vegetables and onion in a large bowl. Add the eggs, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and pepper and stir well.

Place a large frying pan over medium-low to medium heat and add enough oil to fill the pan to a depth of 1/4- to 1/2-inch.

When the oil is hot, use a soup spoon to scoop up about 2 tablespoonfuls of the latke mixture, then use another soup spoon to press down on the mixture to make an oval patty. Gently slide the patty into the oil. Continue making patties with the spoons and cook 6 to 8 latkes at a tlme, without crowding them, until browned, crisp, and cooked through, about 5 minutes per slde. Make sure the oil isn't too hot or they will burn.

Place the latkes on the prepared baking sheet and keep warm m the oven while you finish the rest.

Season with salt and serve with the sour cream and applesauce.

Makes 20 small latkes, 4-6 servings
Used with permission to Recipelink.com from Ten Speed Press
Source: Root-to-Stalk Cooking by Tara Duggan