Part three of a three-part series
For the last part of this three-part blog series on latkes, I wanted to open it up to you, the readers! I got some interesting suggestions (taro root, apple, Cajun and pumpkin) but one type of latkes prevailed above the rest: sweet potatoes.
My relationship with sweet potatoes has been a rocky one — from not liking them as a kid (I still don’t like the mashed, marshmallow-covered version my family makes for Thanksgiving) to trying them out a couple years ago and discovering they weren’t half bad, to discovering that once I finally started to like them, my body gave me stomach issues in response.
So on top of never having had sweet potato latkes, all this made me nervous to say the least. I found a recipe online, and tripled and modified it.
Let me tell you, these latkes were delicious. So delicious I may have to make them again next year. I shared them with some friends, who loved them, and the next day won my family’s first-ever latke competition at our Chanukah party. (Bonus: they did not make my stomach hurt, thank goodness.)
Here is my version of the recipe. I hope you enjoy them as much as we all did!
Sweet Potato Latkes
Makes 20-25 large latkes
Ingredients
3 lbs sweet potatoes, coarsely grated
2 onion, finely grated
4 scallions, finely chopped
1 1/3 flour
6 eggs
3 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Vegetable oil for frying (olive oil will work well too, but vegetable oil is a bit more of a neutral taste that works with the sweeter latkes)
Instructions
- Peel and coarsely grate sweet potatoes.
- Finely grate onions. Their consistency should be mush-like, so that their flavor goes into the latkes without their texture. (After two weeks of killing my eyes grating onions, I borrowed a food processor and learned this can save your eyes’ lives while still obtaining that mush-like texture.)
- Drain water from onion mush (a strainer with a cheesecloth or flour sack bag will work), then add to sweet potatoes. Normally, you also drain potatoes, but the sweet potatoes came out quite dry.
- Add finely chopped scallions, flour, salt and pepper.
- Beat in eggs and mix everything together well.
The final mixture before frying. - Heat pan over medium high heat with thin layer of oil. Spoon batter into pan and shape into latkes about 1/3-inch think.
- The sweet potato latkes take a bit longer to fry than regular latkes, so be patient, or they will fall apart. I’d say the first side takes longer to fry than the second. Flip when edges are golden brown, about 5-7 minutes on each side.
- Drain oil with paper towel, and enjoy!
The result — see how orange they are!
This is the third part of a series. To get my dad’s recipe for zucchini latkes, click here. To get my recipe for vegan latkes, click here.
