The Root Vegetable Chronicles: Beet & Carrot Latkes

As I’m sure many of you who live in northern climes do, we eat a lot of root vegetables these days. Our winter CSA share keeps us supplied with a nice variety of root crops; boxes each week usually have a variety of beets, carrots, parsnips, sometimes celeriac or turnips or rutabagas, and sometimes a few other surprises.

For awhile I was roasting sheet pans of root vegetables on the weekend and using them throughout the week (since I *love* roasted root vegetables), but then I got to thinking – I should really branch out. Because many of you are probably in the same situation, right? If you’re trying to eat somewhat seasonally and live in a cold climate, no matter how sunny it is in Stop & Shop, the reality is that it’s winter – there’s no way around it. Root storage crops are a large part of what’s in season and what’s available locally.

So, this week I’m calling the Root Vegetable Chronicles: I will have one post a day for you on a different way to use up those root crops (other than roasting!) Up today: beet and carrot latkes.

We had these for a light lunch over the weekend. I used carrots, a golden beet, a red beet, and an onion from our CSA share; they’re coarsely grated (I opted to hand grate them to get slightly thinner shreds than the food processor shredding blade would have given me), bound with some egg and flour, and cooked in a heavy skillet.

I topped them with a dollop of sour cream, thinned out just a little with some cream, and a sprinkling of chopped chives.

A great appetizer or light entree…kind of the winter counterpart to the summer vegetable pancakes. Oh, and no, I did not enhance the color on these pictures – the colors really are that vibrant!
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Beet & Carrot Latkes

From Edible Finger Lakes Magazine, Winter 2008

view printable recipe

Ingredients
2 medium beets, coarsely grated
2 medium carrots, coarsely grated
1 medium onion, coarsely grated
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
coarse salt and pepper to taste
sour cream or creme fraiche, plus chopped chives, for serving

Directions

Combine the grated vegetables in a bowl. Add the beaten eggs, stir to combine, then stir in the flour and salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F, and set a cooling rack on a sheet pan. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, scoop 1/3 cup of the latke mixture into the skillet, and flatten to 1/4 inch thick. Scoop 3 more latkes into the skillet. Cook the 4 latkes until golden brown, about 4-6 minutes per side. Remove the latkes to the cooling rack on the sheet pan, and place them in the oven to keep the latkes warm while you cook the remaining four.

Add another 1 1/2 tablespoons oil to the skillet and cook the remaining latkes. When all the latkes are done, serve them warm with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche and a sprinkling of chives.

Makes 8.

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