Now, about those potato pancakes....

Last week, an unexpected trip to the vet derailed our plans for potato pancakes on Meatless Monday. For those following along, Cooper is doing great. The antibiotics have beaten back the Lyme disease and he is running around like normal.Since I didn't quite get over not getting them last week, Cynthia agreed to make the potato pancakes this week. However, as she often does, she took a traditional preparation and added her own touches.

Typically, potato pancakes are pretty straight forward - shredded potatoes, diced onion, eggs and flour to bind them together. Tonight we wanted to "veg them up a bit". We started by shedding a really big russet potato on the largest side of a box grater. The shredded potatoes were triple rinsed in cold water to remove as much starch as possible. 1/2 of a large sweet potato was shredded the same way and added to the rinsed russet. Finally, two medium carrots were shredded the same way. Separately, the following were diced: red onion, green onion, and jalapeno pepper.

The russet/sweet potato mixture was strained through a colander and as much water as possible was pressed out by hand. All the ingredients were combined in a large mixing bowl. To get the pancakes to hold together during frying, you need to add eggs and flour. We added three eggs and three tablespoons of flour (this will depend on the amount of potato you've used). The goal is to mix everything together and have it all be coated by the egg and flour but not be a gloppy mess.

Add about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil to a a shallow non-stick fry pan and get the oil good and hot (375 F if you have way to measure the temp). Test the oil with a very small piece of the mixture to make sure it is hot enough. We use a fork to add the mixture to the oil so that it remains loose and not "packed". Fit as many as you can comfortably in the pan and turn when the first side is golden brown.

 
The second side always  takes less time. Remove from the oil onto something to absorb the excess (we use a brown paper grocery bag). Salt immediately while still very hot. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and enjoy with your favorite topping - or as is. We like applesauce and sour cream.

The vegetables added a nice mix of sweet and spicy to the crunchy potatoes. Comfort food at its best.