A few days ago, after making Samosa Latkes (yum, yum!), I promised I would post the recipe for the sweet potato latkes my family made the same evening.
We call them Yam-e-kes.
Yes, I know sweet potatoes aren’t really yams, but the name was too cute to resist!
Like most of my latkes (including my standard version, posted last year), these are a little messy. They’re also more than a little tasty.
They have a gorgeous rich color. (Unfortunately, my photograph doesn’t quite do them justice. We ate them so quickly I didn’t have time to snap another picture!)
I like adding rosemary to some of them, particularly when serving them with poultry. My nephew Michael, who calls rosemary leaves “those twigs,” prefers them plain.
So I’m making the rosemary optional.
Enjoy the last couple of days of Hanukkah (or Chanukah or however you want to spell it!)……..
Yam-e-kes
Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 large onion, more or less finely chopped
2 eggs, beaten
6 tablespoons flour or matzo meal (plus a little more if you need it)
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
several of grinds of your pepper mill
1 teaspoon dried (or 2 teaspoons fresh) rosemary (optional)
extra-virgin olive oil as needed for frying
Instructions:
Wash the sweet potatoes well and peel them if you want to (the skins are nutritious so you don’t have to). Grate them using the grater attachment of a food processor.
In a medium bowl, combine the sweet-potato pieces, onion, eggs, flour, salt, pepper, and rosemary (if you’re using it). In a large frying pan, heat a few tablespoons of oil until the oil begins to shimmer.
Scoop some of the sweet-potato mixture out of the bowl with a soup spoon, and flatten it with your hand. Pop the flattened potato into the hot oil. It should hiss and bubble a bit; if not, wait before you put more pancakes into the oil.
It’s just fine if your yam-e-kes are a little ragged around the edges. If they don’t hold together and are hard to turn, however, you may want to add a little more flour to your batter.
Fry the pancakes a few at a time, turning each when the first side turns a golden brown. Drain the cooked latkes on paper towels; then pop them into a 250-degree oven to stay warm until you have finished cooking all the batter.
Serves 6 to 8 as a side dish.
Happy Hanukkah from my family to yours!
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