Hanukkah has come and gone, but these tasty latkes are one dish that you can enjoy all through the holiday season. Perfect as an appetizer or side dish, you will have everyone fooled into thinking they are classic potato latkes.

I actually have never had a traditional potato latke. My family makes a dish somewhat similar, but a little more treacherous to your waistline. The dish my family has made for years is something we call “potatnik”. We usually make it once a year or when family comes to town. One reason potatnik is such a rare treat is that it takes about a year for your body to recover after consuming it. It is delicious – the batter is made from shredded potatoes, flour, yeast, and salt, and then fried in a pan of oil in a 450 degree oven. The end result is something like a giant french fry, the size of a cake pan, that you can eat rubbed in garlic, or sliced to make as a sandwich with smoked salmon, salami, turkey, tomato, onion, and sour cream. Coming from a wellness oriented family, I have to admit I’m a little ashamed that we make this dish, but you have to experience it to understand how amazing it really is. I have managed to avoid eating potatnik the last few times my family has made it, because the last time I spent the night dreaming I was eating whole cloves of garlic. When I woke up, my bedroom smelled very strongly of garlic and oil, which I’m pretty sure was oozing from my pores. Let’s just say I did a month long cleanse after that splurge.

Okay, on to today’s post! Bill and I have really been wanting to make latkes, and finally did so, after some serious inspiration on Marks Daily Apple last week. Mark posted delicious looking vegetable latkes made from zucchini, carrots, turnip, and daikon radish. For our latkes, we opted for yellow squash. The yellow squash has a mild flavor, and when shredded and fried, looks very similar to potato. We figured this would be fun food trickery on our parts. Of course all of the vegetables use in the MDA recipe would be delicious as well.

Ingredients:

• 4 yellow squash (makes about 5-6 cups grated)
• 3 eggs
• salt and pepper
• oil for frying (we used olive oil, coconut oil would be great also)

Process:

1. In a food processor (with a grating/shredding blade) or with a cheese grater, grate yellow squash.
2. Place grated squash in a dish towel and squeeze as much excess liquid from the squash as possible.
3. Beat 2-3 eggs, and mix into squash.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Heat 1/2 cup oil in a frying pan (you can test the heat of the oil by tossing a pinch of the squash into the oil. If it sizzles, then you have the correct temperature.)
6. Form squash into small cakes, about the size of the palm of your hand, and carefully place in hot oil.
7. Fry until crispy (you may also remove the latkes, place on a parchment lined baking sheet, and bake at 350 for additional crisp.).
8. Plate and serve.
9. Optional garnish would be sour cream and chives, if you choose to eat full fat dairy.

*If the oil in the frying pan starts to smoke, or becomes to dark in color, then it is necessary that you change the oil before frying more latkes.

[Printer-friendly recipe – click here]

These were absolutely delicious! We made the latkes as a side dish for dinner, and most of them were gone by the time we finished photographing. Whether you choose to follow our recipe, or MDA’s you wont be disappointed.