Laura Simon's Root Vegetable Latkes

A note from Katherine of Cook With What You Have

"Make Latkes out of most any root veggie: this week I've made them with carrots and rutabagas and with sweet potatoes and turnips. Mix and match depending on what you have on hand. Add herbs if you'd like. My four-year-old gobbles them up. It's generally a great way to get unfamiliar veggies in little (or big!) tummies.

I added lots of fresh oregano (thrives in my garden this time of year when not much else does) to the carrot and rutabaga ones along with some finely chopped onion, an egg and a bit of flour. You'll need to adjust quantities based on how much grated veg you have. They're pretty forgiving though. I pan fry them in just a small amount of oil. Top with sour cream or Greek yogurt and dig in!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled (you could skip the peeling using banana fingerlings) 
• 1/2 pound parsnips (sub rutabagas) 
• 1/2 pound carrots, peeled
• 1 onion, finely chopped 
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill (or dried thyme, rosemary or fresh garden oregano) 
• 3 tablespoons matzo meal or unseasoned bread crumbs (or flour) 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 
• 2 or 3 eggs, lightly beaten (the final amount will depend on the starchiness of the potatoes)
• Vegetable or corn oil for frying

Directions

Place a large fine-meshed sieve over a large bowl. Grate the potatoes and place in the sieve. Grate the parships and carrots and place in another large bowl. Add the onion, dill, matzo meal, salt, and pepper to the parsnip mixture.

Using your hands, squeeze the potatoes a palmful at a time over the sieve to remove as much moisture as possible. Add the squeezed potatoes to the parship mixture. When all the potatoes have been squeezed, remove the sieve and carefully pour off the potato liquid while leaving the white potato starch in the bottom. Add the starch to the vegetable mixture. Add 2 eggs and thoroughly combine. Put a scant 1/4 cup of the mixture into the palm of your hand and flatten with your other hand. If the mixture sticks together, you can form the remaining mixture into cakes. If not, add another egg and then form the cakes. In a medium, heavy-bottomed skilled over medium heat, heat 1/2 inch vegetable oil. Place a few of the cakes in the hot oil and fry until dark gold on one side. Flip with a spatula and cook the second side until golden. Place on a baking sheet and keep warm in a 200 degree F oven while frying the remaining cakes. Serve hot.