Rainbow Latkes

Published by Amy Becker on December 2, 2014

What’s better than brown potato latkes? Rainbow latkes in every color!!

I can’t take complete credit for these colorful latkes. A few months back, I roomed with Sam during the IFBC conference in Seattle. We were chatting about super cool bloggy things like subscription lists and photo editing. Riveting stuff! Ah the glamorous life of a food blogger. Then we moved onto recipe ideas.

Sometimes people ask me how I come up with these recipes. Okay, usually just my Mom asks me. But maybe everyone else is shy. (Sure, Amy.) I keep a running list in my phone (I’m technical like that) and get inspiration all over the place! I love using my Texas surroundings (hello Latkes Nachos), getting ideas from eating at new restaurants or reading about food.

But this inspiration was a little different! I have always loved rainbows (it’s my second favorite color, after glitter.) So I started dabbling in less than natural rainbow food. Rainbow challah (there are some sweet pics of me in that post), rainbow bagels. But never rainbow latkes. That is, until now. Sam suggested rainbow latkes from natural ingredients and our minds started working! No dyes here, son!

Since I was making a crap ton of latkes, this seemed like a good idea to to bust out my new KitchenAid Food Processor Attachment. I normally grate my potatoes and such by hand, but the food processor made it so much faster! I grated everything up in no time at all. Color me impressed (see what I did there?)

This also seemed like a super appropriate time to bust out my KitchenAid Stainless Steel 10-Piece Cookware Set. I needed almost every piece of cookware to fry latkes simultaneously and make some of the toppings. They are heavy (as in sturdy), cooks food evenly, and easy to clean (I hate cleaning). Love them!

Fry baby, fry.

Here they are in their glory!

Stacks on stacks on stacks.

What is each latke? Glad you asked! May I introduce you to…

Beet and Red Onion Latkes with Cranberry Sauce (Kinda purple-red. Bare with me. And yes I do mean get naked with me.)

Sweet Potato Carrot Latkes topped with Apricot Jam (Lox would be so good here too! Just thought of that.)

Yellow Squash, Corn and Cheddar Latkes with a Fried Egg

Zucchini Latkes with Avocado and Cilantro

Purple Cauliflower Latkes with Blueberry Applesauce

#drippyegg

What would you make rainbow latkes with??

Here is the recipe. It looks scarier than it is, I swear.

Rainbow Latkes

Amy Kritzer

What’s better than brown potato latkes? Rainbow latkes in every color!

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1 10

Course Hanukkah

Cuisine Jewish

Ingredients

For Cranberry Sauce:
½ bag 6 ounces fresh cranberries
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
For Blueberry Applesauce:
1 cup blueberries
1 large apple such as Fuji
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup brown sugar
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
For Beet and Red Onion Latkes:
3 medium red beets washed well peeled
1 tablespoon red onion minced
1 garlic clove minced
2 eggs whisked
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or matzo meal
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt plus more for sprinkling on latkes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For Sweet Potato Carrot Latkes:
1 pound sweet potatoes about 3 cups, washed, peeled and shredded
2 tablespoons white onion minced
1 medium carrot shredded
2 eggs whisked
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or matzo meal
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Apricot Jam for garnish
For Yellow Squash Corn and Cheddar Latkes:
2 medium squash shredded
1/4 cup corn canned or fresh
2 eggs whisked
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or matzo meal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
Fried Egg for garnish
For Zucchini Latkes:
2 medium zucchini shredded
2 tablespoons white onion minced
1 garlic clove minced
2 eggs whisked
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or matzo meal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 avocado diced, for garnish
1/4 cup minced cilantro for garnish
For Purple Cauliflower Latkes:
1 large purple cauliflower
2 eggs
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs or regular bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
For all latkes:
Oil for frying such as grapeseed or canola oil

Instructions

First, make the cranberry sauce and blueberry applesauce. For each, combine all ingredients in a medium stock pot and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and simmer until ingredients are soft, and cranberries have burst. About 15 minutes for each. Let cranberry sauce cool. Process blueberry applesauce with an immersion blender or food processor until smooth. Cool.
Next, time to make the latkes! Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees F to keep latkes warm while you are working on the rest. Get a few cookie sheets lined in foil ready. I made all the latke batter first and then fried in batches. I had two pans going at once to make the magic happen.
For each latke, except cauliflower, shred main vegetable into a medium bowl. Use paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible. This is the key to crispy latkes! Then add in remaining ingredients except garnishes and combine.
Set aside paper towels for draining and salt for garnishing.
Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat and add oil. You want oil hot enough that the latke batter sizzles when placed in the oil but doesn’t brown immediately. Place ¼ cup dollops of latke batter into oil, careful not to crowd the pan. Fry one side until well browned, about 3-5 minutes. Then flip and fry the other side. Drain on paper towels. Keep latkes warm in the oven and repeat with remaining batter.
To make purple cauliflower latkes, cut off florets and get a pot of water boiling. Boil cauliflower until they are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Drain well. Mash cauliflower with a fork or potato masher in a medium bowl, and use paper towels to remove remaining moisture. Add in remaining ingredients and cook as you would the other latkes.
Serve Beet and Red Onion Latkes with Cranberry Sauce, Sweet Potato Carrot Latkes topped with Apricot Jam, Yellow Squash, Corn and Cheddar Latkes with a Fried Egg, Zucchini Latkes with Avocado and Cilantro, Purple Cauliflower Latkes with Blueberry Applesauce.