Low Fat & Healthy Potato Veggie "Pancakes" (Healthy Recipes)

Member Name: TheChocolateLady

Product:	Healthy Recipes
Date:	17/12/08 (240 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Not deep fried, includes good, healthy things

Disadvantages: Not deep fried!

When the Hanukkah season is upon us, I dread the traditional holiday "Latke" (Potato Pancake) which have little nutritional value and are always greasy. In fact, just the thought of a potato pancake fried in deep oil can make me gain weight. That's why I developed a version of potato pancakes that is both healthy and low in fat. And the reason why I put the quotes around the word "pancake" is because technically, these aren't really "cakes" you make in the "pan".

Ingredients:
4 medium sized potatoes - finely grated
2 large summer squash or zucchini - finely grated
2 large carrots - finely grated
1 large onion - finely chopped
2 large cloves of garlic - crushed
2-3 eggs
½ cup whole wheat flour (or one cup if you don't add the following options)
(Optional - ¼ cup wheat germ)
(Optional - ¼ cup oat bran)
2-3 tablespoons of salt
Pepper - to taste
(Optional - handfuls of your favorite freshly chopped herbs like basil, chives, parsley and dill)

Instructions:
Take the potatoes and squash or zucchini and grate them finely (by hand or in your food processor). Place these into a colander on top of bowl or deep dish. Add the salt to this and mix well. The, place a plate on top of this and then on that weigh the plate down (I usually take a thermos filled with water and put that on top of the plate). This will help get the excess moisture out of these. Let drain for about 15 minutes the mix up, and let drain for another 15 minutes. Continue this until you see that little to no liquid coming out of the bottom of the colander.

Place the potatoes and squash/zucchini in a large bowl and add the carrots, onions, garlic (and chopped herbs) and mix well. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the flour (and the wheat germ and oat bran). If this seems a bit wet, you can add more flour so that the mixture is thick enough to form with a spoon, but not so stiff that you have to form these with your hands.

Take a baking sheet and cover it with parchment paper (sprayed with PAM, if necessary). Form large spoonfuls of the mixture into ovals of about four inches long by two inches wide, but only about one inch high. Place these evenly on the paper. Bake these (and yes, that's why these aren't traditional "pancakes") at 180-200oC (350-400oF for at least 20 minutes or until golden brown on the top.

Depending on how large or small you make these, you can get up to 40 pancakes out of this recipe.

Because these aren't fried in oil but baked, they are far less fattening than traditional potato pancakes and the addition of the veggies not only makes them healthier, but also makes them delicious!

Serve with unsweetened applesauce (yes really) or low-fat sour cream!

So there you have it - my recipe for keeping to my diet even during Hanukkah!

Thanks for Reading!

Davida Chazan © December 2008 (for Ciao, Helium & DooYoo)

Summary: Beat the Hanukkah Heavies with this baked alternative to the "Latke"