Fa La La La Latkes

I know I already did the Fa La La gag this year, but hey, I'm Jewish. It's the only Christmas carol I know.*

ANYWAY, I made not-quite potato latkes for my family's not-quite Chanukkah party. Actually, they were Zucchini Parmesan Latkes, veganized from a recipe in some Jewish magazine I found in my mother's room and used as a coaster. I was lazy and used Galaxy Nutritional Foods' Vegan Grated Topping, but these would probably be even better using nutritional yeast or a homemade parmeseanish topping (I like the one from Yellow Rose Recipes - but I also don't like Parmesean).

The zucchini makes these a little lighter than regular potato latkes, and the parmesean makes them...stinky. Just for shits and giggles, I fried them in peanut oil, but if you're going to serve them on real live Channukkah, you'd probably want to do the whole olive oil thing.

Alas, I have no photos; the family inhaled them before I got to. I guess that's a good thing, yes?

Zucchini Parmesean Latkes
Makes about 24 latkes


2 pounds zucchini
1/2 pound russet potatoes, peeled
the juice of 1/2 lemon
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch (or potato starch, arrowroot or tapoica starch)
peanut oil for frying

Grate the zucchini and potatoes and toss in the lemon juice to prevent browning.
Drain the shredded vegetables in a collander or cheesecloth. Really squeeze the hell out of it to get rid of all the moisture.
Dump in a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and use your hands to mix it all up.
Heat a pan, and add a thin layer of oil.
When the oil is hot, place walnut-sized balls of the potato mixture in the pan and flatten them out with your spatula. Flip after about three minutes (check to make sure it's browned to your liking), then cook for another threeish minutes.
Put out to drain on paper towels.


* This isn't entirely true.