Guest blogger, Aviva Allen, RHN, writes about health, nutrition and cooking with whole foods.  Aviva is a nutritionist and chef in Toronto, Canada and author of The Organic Kosher Cookbook. After obtaining certification at The Canadian School of Natural Nutrition, she graduated from the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts in New York City, a leading health-supportive chef training program with an emphasis on cooking with whole foods.

The Jewish holiday Chanukah is coming up this month so I wanted to share my version of a traditional latke recipe.

Typically, latkes are made of white potatoes which are shredded and deep fried in oil.  Although these latkes are quite tasty, they are not the most nutritious.  My version still includes the traditional potato, but adds to that other vegetables such as sweet potato and zucchini for added nutrients.  In addition, to increase the fibre (and nutrient) content of my latkes, I leave the skin on before I shred the vegetables and use whole spelt flour instead of the usual all-purpose flour.  Rather than deep frying the latkes, I pan fry them briefly and finish off the cooking process in the oven.  This way they maintain the traditional latke flavour, but with much less oil.  Enjoy!

Aviva Allen's potato vegetable latkes are made with spelt flour, zucchini and sweet potatoes, for added nutritional value.

Aviva Allen’s Potato-Vegetable Latkes

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cup (2 medium potatoes) shredded yukon gold potato (There is no need to peel the vegetables as the skin adds more fibre and nutrients.)
3/4 cup shredded zucchini (1 small zucchini)
3/4 cup shredded sweet potato (1 small sweet potato)
2 Tbsp. grated onion (1 small onion)
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 tsp. sea salt
6 Tbsp. spelt flour
Extra virgin olive oil for frying

PREPARATION:

1. • Preheat oven to 425°F.
   • Place shredded Yukon Gold potatoes and zucchini in a towel, a little at a time, and ring out the liquid.
   • Place into a large bowl and mix together with all other ingredients (except the oil).
   • Heat 3 Tbsp. olive oil in a frying pan at a medium-high temperature. Place one heaping tablespoon of the mixture into your hands and flatten to form a disc while squeezing out excess liquid.
   • Fry latkes until golden brown on both sides. Place latkes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 10- 15 minutes.

Serve with unsweetened apple sauce. Yield: 8 medium latkes

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