Spiced Sweet Potato, Carrot and Acorn Squash Latkes

⏱ 60 mins 🍽 Serves 24 🌶 kosher 🏷 Side dish

These vegetable latkes offer a delightful mix of sweet and savoury flavours. Shredded sweet potato, carrot, acorn squash and russet potato are bound with eggs and matzo meal, then seasoned with fresh ginger, smoked paprika, coriander and cumin. The patties are pan-fried until they develop a golden-brown crust. This recipe makes about 24 latkes, ideal for sharing. They are traditionally accompanied by unsweetened applesauce and a dollop of sour cream for serving.

Spiced Sweet Potato, Carrot and Acorn Squash Latkes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound (225g) carrots, shredded on the shredding disk of a food processor (2 cups shredded)
  • 3/4 pound (340g) acorn squash, trimmed, peeled, and shredded on the shredding disk of a food processor (2 cups shredded)
  • 3/4 pound (340g) sweet potato, peeled and shredded on the shredding disk of a food processor (2 cups shredded)
  • 1 pound (450g) russet potatoes, peeled, trimmed, and shredded on the shredding disk of a food processor (3 cups shredded)
  • 6 cups chopped onion (about 6 medium onions)
  • 4 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup matzo meal, plus more as needed (see note)
  • 4 teaspoons (16g) kosher salt, plus more if needed
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more if needed
  • Canola or peanut oil, for frying
  • Unsweetened applesauce and sour cream, for serving

Method

  1. Wrap the shredded carrots, acorn squash, sweet potato, russet potato and onion in batches of roughly 2 cups using cheesecloth folded twice. Secure the corners around a wooden spoon handle and twist tightly to extract the liquid until the vegetables are dry. Place the squeezed vegetables into a large bowl and mix them together.
  2. Add the grated ginger, smoked paprika, ground coriander and cumin to the bowl and stir. Incorporate the eggs and 1 cup of matzo meal. The mixture should hold together when shaped into patties. if it seems too wet, mix in additional matzo meal 1 tablespoon at a time. Finally, stir in the 4 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1 tablespoon of black pepper.
  3. Pour canola or peanut oil to a depth of 1/2 inch in a cast iron skillet and place it over medium-high heat. The oil is ready when a shred of potato sizzles immediately upon contact. Fry a small test latke to check the seasoning, then adjust with more salt and pepper if required.
  4. Shape the mixture into patties approximately 3 inches wide and 1 inch thick. Carefully slide them into the hot oil, frying no more than 4 at once. Cook until the underside is a golden-brown crust, then flip using a slotted spatula and fork. Fry the other side until equally golden and cooked through, which should take about 3 minutes per side. For a darker crust, simply cook a little longer on each side.
  5. Move the cooked latkes to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and allow them to rest for 2 minutes. Present them warm with unsweetened applesauce and sour cream for dipping.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sodium285000 mg

Recipe details

CategorySide dish
Cuisinekosher
AuthorNiki Achitoff-Gray