I’m not sure why, but I don’t eat latkes that often. I have always loved them when I’ve had them, but for some reason they always slip my mind when looking for something different to eat. While a traditional potato latka is absolutely delicious, I love the concept of using alternative ingredients that will fit in a little better with the way that I eat. This recipe for Zucchini Jicama Latkes by AndreAnna from Life As A Plate fits that bill perfectly. Zucchini and Jicama have been some of my go to ingredients lately as they are not only tasty but pretty darn good for you too.
I have a thing for latkes and hashbrown-esque foods (as evidenced by my Turnip and Rutabaga Latkes or my Butternut Squash and Parsnip Hasbrowns) . Maybe it’s because it indulges my love of crispy fried things. Maybe it reminds me of breakfast potatoes which I very rarely indulge in. Maybe I just love food. Yeah… that.
I’ve tried to make oven jicama fries a few times and they’ve never come out as well as I’d hoped – the flavor is always good but the texture always ended up floppy and wilted. So I decided to mix them up with some zucchini and make a latke. To be honest, I tried cooking these three different ways before I was able to get them right. I tried frying them in coconut oil in my stainless steel skillet and this made them crispy and awesome, but I had such a hard time not getting them to stick. I tried putting them in a muffin tin and though they cooked up well, they lacked that crispy fried goodness. I finally tried “frying” them on my electric skillet with some coconut oil.
