Baked Spiralized Parsnip Latkes

Happy Hanukkah! One of my favorite holidays to celebrate with my BF and family. It's also latke time!

I love this method for making latkes, mainly because it's baked and not fried. You use oil, but it won't splatter all over the stove.

And yes, it's parsnips instead of potatoes. Parsnips taste nutty and sweet, so to complement that sweetness you can top the latkes with tangy creme fraiche or sour cream, hot pepper jelly and chives (as shown in the photos above and below). Smoked fish or poached eggs are also delicious as a topper. The BF and I love them with mashed avocado and a poached egg, drizzled with chimichurri sauce (bottom photo). 

If you don't have a Spiralizer, don't worry, the large grate on your hand grater will work fine. The bones of the original recipe are from Inspiralized, I just changed the quantities to my liking.

Closing on a different note, my cousins in Chicago recently sent me this amazing "Bohemian Chanukah" by Six 13 (see below), and this, along with the fact the BF and I loved the film Bohemian Rhapsody [Ed. note: if Rami Malek doesn't get a best-actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury, the offending non-voters should be studied in a lab], reminded me that Queen is one of my favorite bands of all time.

How favorite? I actually "gave" a Queen documentary DVD to the BF as a Hanukkah gift, and he kindly reminded me that he'd actually received a press-review copy of the same film years ago when he was working as a music journalist. He offered it to me, and for some reason at the time I said no.

Sometimes you need to be reminded.

​Reminding you that we hope you are enjoying a wonderful holiday with family and friends.

Shalom.

Adapted from: Inspiralized
Number of servings: makes 5-6 large latkes or 10-12 mini latkes
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Ingredients

• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 4 tablespoons matzo meal
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 large parsnips, peeled, Blade C, noodles roughly trimmed (or use large grate on hand grater)
• 1 onion, peeled, Blade A, noodles roughly trimmed (or use large grate on hand grater)
• 4 tablespoons (divided) extra virgin olive oil

Optional Toppings

• sour cream, creme fraiche​, chives or scallions
• applesauce, hot pepper jelly
• smoked trout, sturgeon or salmon, poached egg

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 °F. Line one rimmed baking sheet with foil.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, matzoh meal, and season generously with salt and pepper. Add in the parsnip and onion. and combine.
3. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil onto the baking sheet and place in the oven for 5-7 minutes to heat the oil. Remove from the oven and place parsnip mixture in handfuls onto the oil. Flatten mixture with a spatula.
4. Bake for 15 minutes or until the bottoms are golden and crisp. Remove from oven, flip latkes over and bake for another 10 minutes or until crisp and golden on both sides.
5. When done, transfer latkes to a paper-towel-lined baking rack to drain. 
6. Wipe off baking sheet with a paper towel to remove old oil and bits and pieces. Repeat 2-5.