Yukon Gold Latkes with Zucchini

I had spent a leisurely Saturday afternoon working on a blog post for Zucchini Pasta and lost track of time.  Does that ever happen to anyone else?  I glanced at the time and it was 5:20 pm and I hadn't planned anything (so unlike me).  Thankfully I had clicked on the "publish" button and I was geared up for one of those magical moments of pulling something right out of my ass.
I walked into my pantry in a not too obvious panic so as not to alarm the children and find some Yukon Golds.  I thought maybe a hashbrown?  They take longer than I had to brown up and get crispy the way everyone likes.  Balls.  But what if I did a smaller version and made a latke?  I have onions and as a bonus I also have zucchini!  This could work!

My girl friend, Terri, had walked me through making latkes on numerous occasions but I had never made them on my own before.  Who knew that I had retained all that information!  Really all you need as far as tools go for this recipe is a box grater, clean hands and a large saute pan.  Check, check and check!
And please don't look at the eggs in this picture, the middle child loves an over hard egg.  Gag.

Here's what you need (food wise):

• 4 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes, grated
• 1 medium sized Onion, grated (Vidalia is what I always have, therefore use)
• 1 medium sized Zucchini, also grated
• 2 eggs, beaten (HA!  Not grated!)
• 1 teaspoon granulated Garlic

I grated all of the potatoes and once they were done put them in a bowl of cold water, it helps to crisp them up at the frying stage.  It also works for French Fries too!

Here's my other trick...get a cookie sheet and cover it with tin foil, then put a wire rack over it and put it in an oven at 250˚ to wait for the goodness that is latkes. 

Then I grated the onion.  And then the zucchini.  Careful of the fingers please!

Once all that is done, drain the potatoes and then get out a clean kitchen towel.  This part I did in batches. Spread some of the potato, onion and zucchini mixture on the towel and then roll it up lengthwise and ring it out...hard!

You will not believe the amount of water that comes out!

Once it's rung out put it in a large bowl and continue on with the process...I repeated this step four times until I was done.

Once you have all the drained goods in the bowl, add in the granulated garlic (one of the few times I have used it!) and the beaten egg.  Here's the point where no kitchen tool will work better than a pair of clean hands...just get in there and mix everything up really well.  Then add some salt and pepper and mix it again.  I have a 12 inch saute pan that will fit 4 latkes perfectly, add about 1/4 cup of olive oil and 3 Tblsp of butter (unsalted please, salted butter is gross).

I use a tablespoon and measure out two heaping spoons of the potato mixture.  I then spread them out in the pan with a fork a bit and then leave them alone.

Seriously.  Don't mess with them until they set up and crisp on the first side.  After about 4-5 minutes you can flip them with a spatula and then another few on the second side to get all nice and brown.

Once they are finished please...let them sit on a paper towel for a few minutes to drain out the oil.

While they are draining sprinkle them with a bit of salt and then stick them in a 250 ˚ oven on that cookie sheet/wire rack business.  Works like a charm and will keep them hot without messing with them for about an hour.

Once they are done you can do pretty much anything.  Sour cream or apple sauce are classic here or you can do a spin with lox and chives with some sour cream.  I used mine like I would with a potato hash and served them up with eggs.  They are really a perfect base or side to anything.  Yum!

Bon Appetit...it's time to eat!