Faux Potato Latkes
/My fondest memories of Hanukkah as a kid was sitting down to a meal of my mom's delicious Matzoh Ball Soup and Potato Latkes.
I consider myself pretty fortunate not only growing up celebrating both Christmas (mom) and Hanukkah (dad), but also having a mom who is a really good cook!
It's been many years since I've made it back to New York during Hanukkah so when I received an email from my mom a few days ago letting me know she had just made my dad some Potato Latkes , I had to ask her for the recipe so I could enjoy our holiday tradition despite the geographic distance.
Since I didn't have any potatoes or matzoh meal in the house (and I wanted to play with a lower carb, gluten-free version) I went with zucchini and flax meal and you know what? It tasted pretty darn good! These happen to be pretty similar to my Zucchini Omelettecake, but the addition of the onion really makes these taste more latke-like.
Faux Potato Latkes
Yields: Approximately 8 latkes (each about 3 inches in diameter)
INGREDIENTS
- 2 zucchini, peeled
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 1/3 cup flax meal
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- Sea salt (to taste)
- Oil or Ghee (clarified butter - not vegan) for frying (if using oil, I recommend grapeseed oil or coconut oil, which are both good for high heat cooking. The coconut oil might alter the flavor a bit, so keep that in mind. The grapeseed oil won't alter the flavor.)
DIRECTIONS
- Shred zucchini and onion in a food processor using a shredder blade
- Transfer shredded zucchini and onion to a medium bowl and remove excess moisture using a towel, paper towel or strainer
- Add flax meal, eggs, pepper and sea salt to the zucchini-onion mixture and mix together
- Heat oil or ghee in a pan and spoon mixture onto the pan, approximately 3 inches in diameter each. Feel free to make them bigger or smaller, but note that doing so will change the yield. Flatten with spatula to facilitate faster cooking.
- Cover the latkes and cook until brown on the bottom. Flip and cook until it's cooked all the way (no runny eggs!)
- Serve immediately and enjoy with apple sauce (if going the store-bought route, get the unsweetened variety with "apples" listed as the only ingredient)
Don't overcook them like i did in this photo!