Root Vegetable Latkes

These latkes were delicious! I love that you can easily mix and match the root vegetables depending on what you have on hand. I used a combination of russet potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots, and it was a great flavor combination. I will definitely be making these again!

After grating the vegetables in the food processor, I further chopped them to create a smaller grated size. This helped to make a more cohesive patty (less like hash browns) for frying. If using russet potatoes, place the grated potato in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from discoloring. Prior to frying, be sure to drain and/or squeeze out all of the moisture from the vegetables. I added a good amount of kosher salt to the latkes just after frying and as they cooled.

I love it when I can immediately go to my pantry and fridge and make a recipe that I just found. Such was the case with these latkes. I went with carrots and russet potatoes, which made a tasty and slightly sweet combination.

The dish was made from start to finish in less than an hour. Once assembled, the ingredients became a bit “watery,” I guess due to the lack of flour. However, this didn’t present a problem. I simply pressed each patty between the two spoons to remove any excess liquid before I dropped it into the hot oil. My yield was 24 latkes.

These root vegetable latkes were amazing on their own but it was also nice to eat them with applesauce and sour cream. This is a fun recipe to make for a dinner party, or even for your kids to take to school the next day (though no longer crisp, they are still very good).

I went to our local farmers market to get what I needed. I used 10 baby carrots, 1/2 small zucchini, 1/2 yellow squash, and 2 really small eggplants. This was very easy to make but it became a tad watery. I used a cast-iron skillet to fry them in to make sure the latkes wouldn’t stick to the bottom of the pan and that worked beautifully. I made them nice and small and had exactly 10, which was the perfect amount as an appetizer for 3 to 4 people.

What a fantastic way to use whatever random root vegetables you have just lying around. I used beets and sweet potatoes and the resulting latkes were sweet, earthy, and delicious.

In order to get 3 cups grated vegetables, I used 2 beets and 1/2 large sweet potato. The mixture came together easily and I was able to prepare it ahead of time and cook the latkes later in the evening when I needed them. This didn’t seem to have an effect on the quality of the latkes. My stove hovered around medium heat and I got a nice crunchy exterior and a cooked-through interior. The latkes did not maintain their crispiness very well while they rested in the oven, so perhaps next time, I’ll keep the oven a touch warmer. They definitely needed a final sprinkling of salt after cooking. I served these with a little crème fraîche.

I also used the leftovers in several unorthodox ways, including as a layer in a sandwich the next day (amazing) and as the base for some barbecue pork and cole slaw (also fantastic). I look forward to trying different combinations of vegetables, including celery root. The possibilities are great.

This was such a simple, good recipe and a really great idea for a quick side.

I had some russet potatoes and sweet potatoes on hand, so I used them. I followed the recipe to a tee and they came out perfectly. At first I was a bit worried because I thought that there might not be enough binder, but the small amount of cornstarch and eggs, along with the natural starchiness of the potatoes, came together to make a nice and surprisingly light latke. In fact, I couldn’t wait to try one, so as I was finishing up the frying, I snacked on a couple of the finished latkes. I will definitely revisit this recipe and try making it again with some of the other suggested root vegetable scraps.

Lovely, crisp, and delicious. I used 2 small potatoes and 1/2 large carrot for my latkes since that’s what I had on hand. I had quite a bit of liquid in the bottom of the bowl, but I just lifted out enough for each individual latke with a spoon, as the recipe instructs, and pressed out the liquid with another spoon before putting the mixture in the pan. The resulting latkes were creamy in the middle and crisp on the outside.

I love the notion of “scraps latkes.” I also love the idea of using root vegetables. The recipe is easy enough to pull together using pantry ingredients. I’ve made latkes before with just potato, and have used zucchini in the batter when I’ve had an overabundance of it, but I’ve never thought to try carrot or beet. My testers loved them (and, in fact, the first tasting comment was “OMG, these are delicious!”). We could have made a meal out of just latkes.

Certainly adding cornstarch makes them great for a gluten-free diet. The carrot gives it a slightly sweeter taste. The latkes turned out crisp on the outside and the inside was creamy and light tasting. The only concern I had was that the batter was very wet. I was concerned that the latkes wouldn’t hold together since there was quite a bit of liquid at the bottom of the bowl. My concerns turned out to be unfounded, but next time I’ll try to squeeze the liquid from whatever vegetables I use.