Sophia’s Recipes: Potato & Zucchini Latkes

Over the next few weeks, Sophia Friedeborn will be sharing an assortment of recipes on the Lori’s Hands blog. From wheelchair-friendly recipes to cooking with pantry staples to new takes on old favorites, all of Sophia’s posts will offer some healthy ideas to try in the kitchen while at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sophia is a senior at the University of Delaware studying Nutrition and Dietetics and Health and Wellness. After graduation, she plans to attend Rush University Medical Center in Chicago for for a Master’s Degree program in Clinical Nutrition and to complete her Dietetic Internship, eventually becoming a registered Dietician. Sophia enjoys traveling and right before the COVID-19 pandemic, she was visiting India with her sister to attend a wedding. She is now safely at her home in Wilmington, DE.

***

Latkes have been an overwhelmingly large part of my diet for as long as I can remember. I come from a very German household, in fact, I was born in Germany myself. My Oma makes these for my family every time we go to visit her in Northern Germany. When I started to get into nutrition, I wanted to find ways to make the recipes I love just a bit healthier. In doing so, I created these Potato and Zucchini Latkes which still give me the comfort of normal Latkes. They are so easy, too! This can be adapted to any latkes recipe; the only change I made was to halve the portion of potatoes I used and replace it with zucchini. It is such a sneaky and satisfying way to get in your greens. I made them for my Oma who had sworn them off and she loved them! Give these a try next time you want some comfort food.

POTATO AND ZUCCHINI LATKES

Ingredients:

2 large potatoes, shredded

2 zucchinis, shredded

2 medium onions, shredded

1 tbsp. pesto

1 ½ – 2 tsp. garlic salt

1 ½ tsp. onion powder

1 ½ – 2 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. white pepper

1 tbsp. egg replacer (or 1 egg)

4-5 tbsp. flower

Directions:

Mix all the shredded ingredients together on a towel and squeeze out excess water. Let sit for 5 minutes and squeeze out more liquid.

Put potatoes, zucchinis, and onion in a bowl and mix well with the rest of the ingredients.

Heat skillet with canola or vegetable oil and drop in about 2-3 tbsp. of the mixture to form 3” to 3.5” round cakes. Flatten out with a fork or spatula. Fry until edges turn light brown, then flip.