Pancakes with maple syrup for dinner? Why not?! But wait, there is a twist. Potato pancakes, or latkes, are a staple for most Jewish holiday menus and typically use Idaho or baking potatoes….but not this recipe. This one uses sweet potatoes to give it a fall-ish feel and to give you another creative dish for the holiday table. Usually when I make the traditional latkes, people are grabbing seconds and thirds after ignoring the urge to stop when measuring how full they are. They are crispy, savory and addicting like French fries. Latkes are also typically served with applesauce and sour cream. Sounds strange but the combo really works.
My sweet potato latkes are on another level. This recipe includes shredded apples in the potato mix which is my play on the traditional recipe with applesauce. It also has maple syrup and cinnamon in the sour cream to give it that fall breakfast feel. I added a bit of crunchy pancetta on top for an extra smoky flavor…think bacon and syrup. Yup, now you see what I did there! The pancetta can be omitted for those that cannot eat pork and it will still be just as good.
Another bonus is that you no longer have to serve a boring casserole dish at your next holiday meal. Try something different! And don’t be surprised when that impulsive feeling surfaces to extend your hand and serve yourself another because you can’t help yourself, just blame it on the pancakes.
- Prep Time: 30m
- Cook Time: 30m
- Total Time: 1h
- Yield: 2 dozen latkes
- Category: Sides
Ingredients
Pancetta
- 4 ounces pancetta, diced
Maple Cream
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt
Pancake
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled (about 4 potatoes)
- 2 apples, peeled, and sliced
- 1 small onion, peeled, sliced
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup matzo meal
- salt and pepper
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 2 tablespoons chives, finely diced
Instructions
Pancetta
- In a small frying pan, cook pancetta until golden brown. Set aside to drain on paper towel and cool.
Maple Cream
- In a mixing bowl, combine the ingredients thoroughly and set aside.
Pancake
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
- Grate apples, onion and sweet potatoes using a food processor fitted with a medium grate, or on the large holes of a box grater.
- Place half of the potato mixture on a clean kitchen towel. Roll the towel around the mixture and wring the towel to draw out excess moisture. Unroll the towel and transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Repeat with the remaining onion and potatoes.
- Combine potato mixture in a medium bowl with eggs, matzo meal, salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan to a medium heat.
- Working in batches, drop 1/4 cup of the potato mixture into the hot oil. Fry until deep golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Flip with a spatula and fry an additional 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel–lined baking sheet and keep warm in oven while you cook remaining latkes.
- Serve warm with maple cream, pancetta and chives
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