Sweet Potato Latkes

I made latkes about a week before Hanukkah, and figured I'd done my latke duties for the year. Then, on the first night of Hanukkah, I came down with tremendous latke guilt, and decided to make them again. This time, I had a big bag of sweet potatoes on hand, so I opted to do a little sweet tater/Yukon Gold tater batch. I took a recipe from Epicurious, and one from MyRecipes, and married them together, to create a lovely, sweet potato and scallion pancake. These got terrific reviews at my house. I'll admit - I skimped on the oil/frying a little, so they didn't have quite the grease factor that typical latkes have, but they were delicious, nonetheless. A mild sweetness from the sweet potatoes, with a nice, subtle bite, from the onions. Next time, if I'm more prepared, I'd like to add shredded carrots and zucchini to the mix. I think I have latkes down to a science. This batch was much neater and easier to assemble than last time. This recipe is a keeper. If you have a food processor, and an extra helper for clean-up time, I'd strongly suggest you try this one!



Make these. Even if you don't celebrate Hanukkah. 4.5 Bowls (had to remove a half bowl, for a couple of slightly underdone latkes!)

Sweet Potato Latkes
Adapted from Epicurious and Southern Living recipes

2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and grated (or a mixture of sweet and Yukons)
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 green onions, sliced
1/2 - 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 tsp of black pepper

Preparation

Stir together potatoes and flour. Stir in eggs, green onions, and salt; blend well.

It is a good idea to line a collander with paper towls, and put the end mixture in it. You need to drain latkes extremely well, before frying, or they fall apart. Mark my words! As you create the patties, you need to squeeze out the liquid from each pancake, individually, as well.

Pour vegetable oil to a depth of 1/2 inch in a large heavy skillet. (I just heat 2 tsp of oil at a time - no deep frying in our house!) Drop potato mixture by tablespoonfuls into hot oil; gently flatten latkes with back of a spoon. Fry, in batches, 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.