With Hanukah coming up soon, I figured I better start playing with a latke recipe. Potato latkes traditionally have egg to help bind. That leaves us in a bind (get it bind – cause that is what eggs do) because between the protein from the potato and egg, it is simply too high. Cassava or Yucca (same thing, two names to torture you) comes to the rescue once again! Cassava is a South American root vegetable that has about 1/4 of the phe of potatoes AND tastes amazing! I thought why not boil some of the cassava and mash it and let that be the binder for the pancake, lowering the phe without impacting the taste. (Seriously, aren’t I a culinary genius?) You can also make mini latkes, making them a wonderful appetizer. Serve with applesauce, ketchup or sour cream (if your phe allowance permits).
Potato Cassava Latkes
With Hanukah coming up soon, I figured I better start playing with a latke recipe. Potato latkes traditionally have egg to help bind. That leaves us in a bind (get it bind – cause that is what eggs do) because between the protein from the potato and egg, it is simply too high. Cassava or Yucca (same thing, two names to torture you) comes to the rescue once again! Cassava is a South American root vegetable that has about 1/4 of the phe of potatoes AND tastes amazing! I thought why not boil some of the cassava and mash it and let that be the binder for the pancake, lowering the phe without impacting the taste. (Seriously, aren’t I a culinary genius?) You can also make mini latkes, making them a wonderful appetizer. Serve with applesauce, ketchup or sour cream (if your phe allowance permits).
Nutrition
Ingredients
Method
- Cut 1 cup (130 gm) of the cassava spears into 1 inch chunks; set the remainder aside. Add cassava chunks to a small pot of heavily salted water. Bring the water to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook until completely tender (15 to 20 minutes). Drain and mash thoroughly with a fork.
- While the cassava is cooking, grate the remaining cassava, potato and onion in a food processor fitted with a shredding disk (or by hand over the large holes of a box grater).
- Place the grated veggies in a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl for 10 minutes. Place veggies in a clean dish towel and wring out excess moisture over the bowl. Reserve the liquid and let it sit for 2 minutes so that the starch will settle to the bottom. Pour off the liquid, leaving only the starch in the bowl.
- Add the mashed cassava to the starch with the scallions, parsley, salt and pepper. Add the grated veggies and toss until combined.
- Scoop 60 gm of the mix (about ¼ cup) in your hands and press into a ½ inch thick disk. Place the pancake on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining mixture.
- Scoop 60 gm of the mix (about ¼ cup) in your hands and press into a ½ inch thick disk. Place the pancake on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining mixture.
- Meanwhile heat the oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Carefully add the pancakes. Cook until the pancakes are well browned and crisp, 3 minutes. Flip over and cook for an additional three minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Repeat with the remaining pancakes.
- Tip: Cooked potato pancakes can be cooled and held at room temperature for up to four hours or frozen up to one month. Reheat in a 375 degree oven on a baking sheet until crisp and hot (10 min if room temperature, 20 min if frozen), flipping them over halfway.
Notes
A few tips for cassavas: they are a bit more bland than potatoes and need loads of salt when boiling and there is a fibrous root in the center that needs to get cut out. Preparing them can be a bit intimidating, so here is what I do. I cut the funky looking veggie into three inch pieces. I stand the cylinder up on my cutting board and peel with a sharp knife. In this recipe since we want them really soft to bind properly, cut the raw cassava in half length wise, and then quarter them. The fibrous root is in the center, so this makes it super easy to cut it out.
Reader Q&A:
Q: I am new to cooking with cassava. Could you use frozen/ peeled cassava? Would this impede the results? Market basket in plymouth mass has cassava frozen goya sells the product. A: ABSOLUTELY! Always nice to save a little prep time.
Q: I am new to cooking with cassava. Could you use frozen/ peeled cassava? Would this impede the results? Market basket in plymouth mass has cassava frozen goya sells the product. A: ABSOLUTELY! Always nice to save a little prep time.
