One of the best parts of Hanukkah is potato latkes. I mean really. A religious excuse to eat fried potatoes… how much better does it get? So for the night, or maybe first two nights, we were just loving the potato pancakes. I think Ryan ate something like 15 the first night. But after a day or two you really start to feel sick with all the fried food consumption. So we needed a solution to survive all 8 nights of Hanukkah. First substitution: let’s bake these little babies instead of frying them. After all, we are shooting for healthy holidays not chunky holidays. Second substitution: let’s mix it up with the flavor profile. Eight nights of potatoes can get a little boring. So instead of just white potatoes, I mixed in white sweet potatoes and rutabaga. The sweet potatoes add the sweet element to the pancakes (duh), and the rutabaga adds a creamy texture and earthy flavor. Never used a rutabaga before? Here’s your first chance! Give these a try over Hanukkah or anytime in this colder weather. The dill-horseradish sour cream is unusual and addicting.
Makes: 2 dozen pancakes
Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 50 minutes
3 cups sweet potato (white or orange), peeled and shredded
2 cups white potato (russets are best), peeled and shredded
2 cups rutabaga, peeled and shredded
1 large white onion, shredded
4 eggs
1/4 cup all purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups applesauce
1 1/2 cups reduced fat sour cream
1/4 cup fresh dill, minced
1 tsp- 1 tbs prepared horseradish (depending on how spicy you want it)
- Put on a yucky t-shirt that you don’t mind smelling bad. I don’t care how you make potato latkes, your clothes will smell like oil and potatoes in a fierce way.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
- Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add the grated sweet potato, white potato, rutabaga, and onion to the bowl. Mix everything together well with your hands. Add the flour, salt and pepper to the mix and combine again.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add a drizzle of vegetable oil (A DRIZZLE!) and let the oil get warm. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to measure out each pancake. Form the 1/4 cup worth of mix in your hands to form a pancake. Put each into the pan, around 4 at a time, and cook for 3 minutes per side. Use a spatula to press the pancakes into the pan… we found this really helps them to keep their shape.
- If you are having a big party I would do this two pans at a time. It really speeds up the process. After the pancakes have cooked, remove them from the pan and place them on a cookie sheet. Cook all of the potatoes in the pan before moving them to the oven. You want to use enough oil to prevent the pancakes from sticking to the bottom, but less really is more. Because we are cooking them on medium heat and not high heat, extra oil will just be absorbed by the pancakes, making them soggy and less crispy.
- When all of the pancakes are done, place them in the oven for about 10 minutes. You can also cook them ahead of time and cook them for 15-20 minutes.
- Quickly whisk the sour cream, dill, and horseradish together and put in a small bowl.
- Serve the platter of potato pancakes with a serving bowl of apple sauce and a serving bowl of the sour cream.
Cooking In Red Socks 