Yam & Potato Latkes

Latkes made with both potatoes and sweet potatoes. The ones on the left are baked, right side are fried.


During Passover, my supermaket has specials on items related to the holiday, and even though I don't celebrate, I do like to stock up on huge tubs of Matzo Meal.


Matzo meal (crushed Matzo) is great for breading things, and I find the texture a bit crunchier than regular bread crumbs when fried. Plus, matzo meal is totally unsalted, so I get to flavor it to my liking.


Recently, it dawned on me that I'd never used matzo meal to make any Jewish cuisine recipes... so this past weekend I thought I'd finally try something out: Potato Latkes.

Latkes are pancakes or fritters made out of shredded potato, and are popular during the Hannukah and Passover holidays. According to Wikipedia, latkes are associated with Polish cuisine.

Of course, it's very hard for me not to add my own little twist, so I decided mix things up and inlcude a bit of grated sweet potato to the batter, as well as some complimentary spices.

Potato latkes are usually served with sour cream and/or applesauce on the side...and since I really liked the sautéed /southern fried apples from the weekend before, I thought they'd be a nice variation.

*During passover, leavening agents aren't allowed, so I used whipped egg whites to naturally lighten the batter a bit.

(Also, I know these technically aren't yams...I just thought potato / yam latkes sounded better than "potato and sweet potato latkes", lol)

Potato & Yam Latkes
makes 25-30

1 medium onion, grated or finely chopped
3 medium potatoes, grated (~3 cups)
1 small sweet potato, grated (~ 2 cups)
3 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage

Black pepper to taste
2 -3 tablespoons matzoh meal

Oil for frying

For serving:
Sour Cream (optional)
Applesauce or Southern Fried Apples (optional)




Combine the grated vegetables in a thin kitchen towel or cheesecloth, and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. The drier the pulp is, the crispier the latkes will be.



Mix the squeeze-dried veggies with the spices, salt, and egg yolks. Stir in the Matzo meal and set aside.



In a clean metal or glass bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric mixer, first on low speed until a foam forms, then on high until you get semi-stiff peaks.



Carefully fold the egg whites into the vegetable mixture.



Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter (I used a small ice cream scoop) into the oil and fry until cooked through and golden on both sides. Add more oil as needed.

Drain on paper towels.



Baking Latkes...
I was sort of curious to see how the latkes would turn out baked... so I dropped some onto a lightly oiled baking sheet, and sprayed the tops with oil.

Then, I placed them in a 350 degree oven for around 30 minutes (halfway through, I flipped them and sprayed the tops again).

Overall, I found that the baked ones tasted fine, but their texture was a little too mushy.


Southern Fried / Sautéed Apples


I made the sautéed apples in pretty much the same fashion as last time.

The only differences: I used all gala apples and instead of adding apple juice, I just used plain water. :o)