Paleo Diet Vegetable Latkes

Zucchini Latkes with sour cream and apple sauce

I was going to call this recipe kohlrabi latkes, but then I started to use other vegetables like zucchini, turnips and carrots. Basically you can use any firm root vegetable. Of course the idea was to make low carbohydrate Paleo diet latkes for Hanukkah, instead of the standard potato latkes. Naturally, if you are eating more carbs you could make them from sweet potatoes. That would be perfectly paleo. I know that over the last month or so many recipes like this have been floating around the web since Hanukkah was last month. Once source of inspiration was Mark’s Daily Apple post. But I have discovered that these are a grate (great!) way to get your veggies and some extra good fat, in the winter. I’ve been making them every week with a different vegetable.

Paleo Diet Vegetable Latkes

Ingredients for zucchini

  • 4 medium/large green zucchini squash
  • 4 medium onions (I like onions!)
  • 3 or 4 eggs (I’ll get to that in a minute)
  • 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Oil for frying

Grate the zucchini using the finer holes on your grater or food processor. Take a clean cotton dish towel or cheese cloth and squeeze out as much juice as you can. I would suggest drinking the juice. it is delicious! Do the same thing with the onions (but I wouldn’t drink the juice this time).

In a large bowl break up the clumped zucchini and onion. Mix in the garlic too. Beat up 3 eggs and add salt and pepper.  Add the eggs to the grated vegetables and mix in. If the batter looks dry or doesn’t stay together when you start to fry these up, add one more egg.

Heat up a skillet then add the oil - I used chicken schmaltz the first time when I made kohlrabi latkes. I’ve also used bacon fat (really kosher, eh?), butter and coconut oil. All are good. Place dollops of the batter in the oil and gently flatten down to where you have about a 3 or 4″ pancake. Fry the first side until the egg has set and you can flip it without breaking the latke.  Cook the second side until golden brown. Add new fat eat time you add new batter. It the fat starts to burn, let the skillet cool a bit, wipe out the fat and start again.

Remove to a dish lined with a paper towel to absorb the extra fat. Or not. I neglected that step with the zucchini and they tasted fine. Not greasy at all.

Serve with sour cream (Primal) or apple sauce (this is the traditional Jewish way) or add any other topping you think would work!

I have found that the Paleo diet vegetable latkes are an easy delicious way to get vegetables at this time of year. Everyone enjoys them and they disappear quickly. They are easy to make and store well in the freezer for several months. One vegetable I have not tried is rutabaga, so that is next on my hit list for vegetable latkes.

Please let us know what you think of these in the comments section. And let us know what toppings you’ve tried. We’d love to know!

 

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5 Responses to Paleo Diet Vegetable Latkes

  1. Maeve Fry January 10, 2012 at 12:39 pm

    Unsweetened applesauce, vo den? what could we use for sour cream In A paleo diet. We are Paleo babies. Sour cream recipe?

    • Lila Solnick January 10, 2012 at 1:33 pm

      Hi Maeve! Thanks for commenting
      Certainly unsweetened apple sauce would be the choice. You could make other fruit sauces like blueberry peach, apricot, pear, etc. But I have no idea how these fruits would taste with the latkes. If you are fully paleo, not primal (primals eat some dairy), maybe a coconut cream or coconut butter would taste good. Sometimes coconut milk left in the fridge for a while will get very thick and creamy (if it does not spoil first), almost like sour cream. Use your imagination - what would taste good with onions and zucchini? Or kohlrabi? How about gravy from a roasted chicken or beef? How about a Paleo mayo made with coconut oil and olive oil? Boy! These sound like good ideas. I will have to try them out. If you try any of these, please post your comments on how it tasted here.
      Thanks!
      Lila

  2. Hillary January 10, 2012 at 9:42 pm

    Sounds great. I think these would probably work well with combinations of grated vegetables such as latkes made with carrot & zucchini, or carrot & turnip, etc…. To get a little bit of sweetness but in a LC fashion, maybe try sweet potato with zucchini or one of the others? Savory latkes could also be seasoned with different spices including hot pepper for those who want some kick. Now I’m beginning to wonder about adding diced cooked leftover meats, or maybe some grated cheese on top after latke turned over………… wandering pretty far here from the original!

    • Lila Solnick January 11, 2012 at 12:04 pm

      Hi Hillary,
      Thanks for the comment!
      Mixing the veggies and adding some different seasonings are great ideas. Perhaps you could invent a whole new food group. :)
      Thanks for visiting.
      Lila

  3. Angelina January 14, 2012 at 6:04 pm

    I love these and so do my family.