Latkes–fluffy, savory pancakes made of grated potatoes–make a filling base for a cold-weather meal. We make them with regular potatoes, but we also like them made with sweet potatoes, whose bright orange color fits our fall mood so well. Sweet potatoes are also loaded with nutrients, so be thankful if they’ve been showing up at your farmers market or in your CSA basket recently. The problem with making latkes from sweet potatoes is how to get the sweet potato to cook through without burning the exterior, since sweet potatoes’ sugar content make them susceptible to excess caramelization. I’ve discovered a secret, though, that I’ll share with you today; just keep reading!
Ingredients
- about two cups grated sweet potato
- 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
- 1 egg
- 1/2-1 teaspoon jerk seasoning OR sausage seasoning OR cajun seasoning OR a dash each of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and a pinch of salt and pepper–Use what you have and what goes well with your meal.
Method
Grate the sweet potato using a course grater. Try to get long strips of potato as well as shorter ones. Now--and this is one of those secrets I hate to give up–microwave the grated sweet potato for 2 minutes on high. The sweet potato should take on an almost rose-floral scent as it starts to cook. If you don’t have a microwave, bake the grated sweet potato in a covered casserole dish at about 350 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes. You should get similar results.
Let the grated sweet potato cool a bit and then stir in the flour. Add the egg and your chosen seasoning and stir to combine. Heat a heavy-bottomed pan (you know me: I’ll use cast iron!) to medium heat (about 300 degrees) and add about a quarter to half an inch of oil. Drop latkes in with a big spoon and spread a little to form pancake shape. Cook on each side until they’re crispy, about 5 minutes per side. You can hold the cooked latkes in a warm oven on toweling while you cook the rest.
Try sweet potato latkes with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt or even some apple butter. I served our recent sweet potato latkes with plus cabbage and onions, grilled organic turkey bratwurst, and a sweet, sour, and crunchy fall salad that I’ll post tomorrow–I promise, it’s already written!
Do you like sweet potatoes? What’s your favorite way to eat them?
Copyright 2010 Ozarkhomesteader.
Recently we experienced a self inflicted sweet potato glut, we made muffins and gnocchi, the gnocchi were my personal favorite of our experiments, but these latkes have me thinking we might need more sweet potatoes!
Welcome to the blog, Elle!
Readers, check out Elle’s sweet potato-pecan muffins here: http://kitchensevenfive.blogspot.com/2010/11/sweet-potato-pecan-muffins.html
Have you posted the gnocchi recipe yet?
That looks great and I will definitely try it. I need to bone up on my culinary naming though…there are SO MANY different names for potato dishes that I lump together with the phrase “hash browns.” Thanks for teaching me another one.
I believe that Mr. Homesteader called these hash browns too!
I love potato pancakes, have never tried with sweet potatoes..sounds and looks great. What a great fall dish…my FIL just told me his sweet potatoes were ready to dig up and he had a bunch to share…we forgot to plant ours.
How fortuitous that your father-in-law planted extra!
I love both sweet potatoes and latkes. Did you know that you can make latkes from various grated vegetables: carrots, zucchini, parsnips, etc? Try them sometime — they’re all great and with Hanukah coming up, very timely. For regular white potatoes, my favorite recipe is Julia Child’s from Mastering vol 1 — she puts in 3 oz of cream cheese and some small cubes of gruyere. Definitely not kosher, but delicious! I think it works well to hold them in a warm over on a rack, above a jelly roll pan, as that way both sides stay nice and crisp. We used to make a ‘cheat’ version of potato pancakes from leftover mashed potatoes — just add some flour, an egg, baking powder, milk to thin to a batter consistency, and some chopped scallions. Cook on a griddle as you would pancakes — no need to fry them, so they are not greasy. Serve with applesauce and/or sour cream of Greek yogurt. I think this would work well with leftover sweet potatoes, too, but it’s rare that we have any!
One of my favorite way to make sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving is Bourbon Sweet Potatoes with Pecan Praline topping. Cook the sweet potatoes (can nuke, bake, or boil, what ever your preference), until fully cooked and soft. If baked or nuked, skin, and mash while hot with a knob of butter, some brown sugar, a pinch of salt, and some cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to taste (or other spices you like, such as cardamom, mace or allspice). Add in a splash of bourbon. Put into a greased baking dish (can be made ahead to this point and frozen or refrigerated). 15-30 minutes before serving (baking time will depend if the potatoes are refrigerator cold or still quite warm from jst having cooked and mashed them), top with chopped pecans and brown sugar to cover, dab bits of butter all over. Bake in a 350 oven until top is brown and potatoes are warmed through. Note: if potatoes are hot, but top still needs some caramelizing, run under the broiler for 30 secs to a minute, but be careful not to burn the nuts.
Our most prevalent way to eat SP’s is to microwave them, as it is so fast, and it’s fine for them to steam, unlike white baking potatoes. Just cut off the tips (so they don’t explode) and nuke 6 minutes for 1, stopping and turing over halfway into the cooking time. For 2 or more, will need to increase the cooking time to 8-12 minutes, depending upon number (and size) of potatoes. Since them are so much better nutritionally, we have these instead of baked potatoes.
Kim, what fabulous recipes and ideas for sweet potatoes! The bourbon dish sounds great, but I’ll have to substitute another nut for pecans, since sniff sniff that’s the one nut to which I’m allergic.
I have made latkes out of other veggies, but the less potato, the more I just call them pancakes, like these summer squash pancakes.
So glad I saw this. I have one GIANT sweet potato in the fridge and since I’m up early, the boys will have latkes for breakfast. Enjoy your day.
Sounds great! Let me know what timing you need on microwaving for a big sweet potato. 🙂
I did fine with 2 minutes
Thanks, Tammy. It’s good to know that the timing works even with bigger sweet potatoes. I’ve got a couple of monsters to use here too. Did the boys like the latkes?
Last year I learned a new, easy way to enjoy sweet potatoes just in time for Thanksgiving, and it has become a regular around here.
I grate up about 4 cups of sweet potatoe, scrubbed skins and all, and saute them in butter and canola oil with a little b it of fresh, chopped sage.
They cook incredibly fast, and everyone who has had them has raved about them.
Denise
That does sound good, Denise, like sweet potato hash browns! I really like sage with winter squashes and sweet potatoes. The flavors work so well together.