Sweet Potato Latkes

This recipe was savory, sweet, satisfying and lit up my nights, every night I made them! You could make them when it is not Hanukkah and call them something fancy, and they will still taste just as delicious. There’s something ancient and wise about making something with root vegetables in the dark of winter, almost on the darkest day, and I felt myself be nourished, body and soul, with this recipe. You could make this with vegetable oil if you’re thrown by the low smoking temp of olive oil, but I have funny healthy hangups, so I turned on the exhaust fan and crossed my fingers.

We all have had lived lives made rich by cultural traditions perhaps not shared with our parents, but shared with people we consider family for many reasons. Every year for the past few years I have tried to respect the holiday and cultural traditions of some of the people who have made my life rich, in addition to observing traditions which were part of my childhood home. Often this means cooking dishes I am not quite sure how to master, and I have burned latkes (or turned them into oily hashed browns), over salted collard greens and yes, even committed the sin of both under and over seasoning everything from pork to peaches.

There is something about holidays which have central themes of light which speak to my deep feeling soul, and this year at Hanukkah I cooked latkes as a nod to this holiday which is so important to so many people who are important to me, especially when they were children. While it is not popular to believe in miracles and it is even more not popular to believe in miracles which happen to inconvenient people or people who have experienced centuries of prejudice, I believe the oil lasted eight days as I believe in the miracle of our Lady of Guadalupe and the sacredness of Mary Magdalene and the mystery of the shroud of Tourin and the sanctity of the teachings of the Buddha and the divine insight about the poor written about in the Koran (Quaran) I believe because despite everything I have witnessed and experienced I ache to believe, not in fables but in truths which resonate with people from every corner of the globe. We who believe in miracles believe maybe because we need to, but often, for the wild souls who have seeker souls like mine, especially those who have seen certain disaster, we believe because there is no other way to explain why we are still sentient breathing creatures. I believe in miracles because I feel like I have witnessed them in my own life, in the extreme and humble, and the outpouring of selflessness which has ensured my survival can only be described as a modern day miracle. In this spirit of celebrating miracles and light, I cooked this dish..

This year Hannukkah seemed more important to me because I think so many of us are grappling with understanding where in our lives we can let light shine and perhaps harder to understand- how we can invite light in. Traditional latkes are cooked in oil but I am overly scared of having a fire in my house, especially since having a fire in my house which destroyed all of my possessions, so bake them I did. I have tried to fry them in the past but my anxiety got the best of me as I stubbornly kept trying to cook them in oil I would not let heat up sufficiently. I liked this recipe so much I made them two nights in a row and the second night I added some spice to the recipe, and both nights, man, they were awesome!

Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes

0.25 - 0.5 cup of flour

whisked egg

salt

pepper

onion, diced, cooked until aromatic and then cooled

powdered garlic

Optional additions: Cumin, Red Crushed pepper and even onion powder

Plan of Attack

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Dice and cook your onions until aromatic

Shred your potatoes using your hand grater

Garnish

cup of plain yogurt or sour cream

tsp of cayenne pepper

green onions, diced

apple sauce (optional, but not for me….I love me some saucy apples)

Combine all ingredients except olive oil in your medium mixing bowl and mix until completely integrated. I added cumin, because I love it and I always think of somebody, when my meal includes it, running in from the backyard (following the aroma of baking food) yelling “Hold on, don’t eat em alL, I’m cum-in”….Don’t be dirty, I am talking about a spice.

Coat your baking sheet with olive oil and put in the oven for 9-11 minutes. Remove and spoon 6 latke mounds onto the baking sheet. Being careful not to touch the pan. Flatten with your fork and Put the latkes in for 15 minutes, remove from the oven, flip over the latkes and put back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

Mix the yogurt and cayenne pepper, pour generously over the hot latkes, drizzle with diced green onions (called scallions by you fancy folk) and Add some applesauce on the side in something more generous than an actual sHmear…