Potato and Parsnip Latkas
Latkas – delicious, crunchy grated potato cakes – are one of the key traditional foods of Hannukah, the Jewish festival of light. During Hannukah, we eat foods cooked in oil. Latkas make a great supper with sour cream, apple sauce and a salad. They also make a fantastic weekend brunch dish. They can even be served sweet, dipped in cinnamon sugar. Serves 10
Ingredients
- 175g (6oz) parsnips, peeled
- 5 dill sprigs or chives, Chopped (optional)
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 500g red potatoes
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 60g plain flour
- 30g cornflour or Potato starch
- ½ teaspoon Aleppo Pepper (pul biber) (optional)
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 50g coconut yogurt
- Vegetable oil, for frying
To Serve
- Vegan sour cream
- Apple sauce or cranberry Relish
To serve
- Grate the parsnips into a bowl using the large side of a box grater. Add the dill or chives if using and onion, and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Grate the potatoes into a separate bowl, covering with a tea towel so they don’t oxidise. Take a handful of the grated potatoes and squeeze as hard as you can, releasing all the liquid, then add the squeezed potato to the bowl with the parsnips and onions. Continue with the remaining potatoes and stir.
- Add the baking powder, flour, cornflour or potato starch, pepper flakes, seasoning and coconut yogurt to the bowl. Stir well to combine.
- Take small handfuls of the mixture, weighing about 80g (2¾oz) each, and roll into balls slightly larger than a ping-pong ball. Repeat until you have used up all the mixture.
- Pour the oil into a large, deep, non-stick frying pan to a depth of 1cm (½in) and place the pan over a high heat. Heat the oil to 160°C (320°F). If you don’t have a cooking thermometer, you can test to see if it’s ready by dropping in a little of the latka mixture. The oil should bubble around the mixture, but not spit.
- Once the oil is ready, cook the latkas in batches. Add the balls to the oil and cook for 3–4 minutes until golden, then press down with a spatula to flatten and cook for 3–4 minutes more. Turn over and cook on the other side for a few more minutes.
- Remove the latkas from the pan and drain on a wire rack set over a tray while you fry the remaining balls.
- 8) Serve with the vegan sour cream and apple sauce or cranberry relish.
Mildreds Easy Vegan, RRP £28, published by Hamlyn. Photography by David Loftus.
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