Confession: Gastronomically, Hanukkah is my least favorite festival. All that awful frying, all that heavy starch – ugh!
So my challenge for this year was to come up with a tasty substitute for the traditional potato pancake that inspires in me nothing but heartburn and indigestion. Using cauliflower as the creamy base, these oven baked latkes I conjured up are my personal Hanukkah miracle. Instead of heavy potato latkes, I made latkes without the carbs, without the frying and without the heartburn. Don’t cheat on the fresh herbs – they give the latkes a real lift.
(5 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5)Loading...Ingredients
- ½ head of a small cauliflower (about two cups)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small leek
- 1 small zucchini
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons whole wheat self-raising flour
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons Canola oil
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350°F (180°C)
- Wash the cauliflower, cut into small florets and steam until the cauliflower has just softened (about 10 minutes). When the cauliflower is ready, place the pieces on a cutting board and chop (I smack it with the back of a chef’s knife – as you would garlic – and then do a rough chop). You don’t want any large chunks but it doesn’t have to be pureed.
- Cut the white part of the leek lengthways and then cut each half lengthways again so you have the four quarters of the leek, and finely chop the leek (each slice should be about 2-3 mm. Add to a pan in which you’ve heated the olive oil and start sautéing.
- Grate the zucchini on a coarse grater and add to the leek, stirring until both the leek and the zucchini have softened (about 5 minutes).
- In a bowl, beat the eggs and add the herbs and seasoning. Add the vegetables (make sure they have cooled slightly so they don’t cook the eggs) and mix.
- Add the whole wheat flour and mix together.
- Place a piece of baking paper on a baking tray and spread the oil on the paper evenly. Drop about one tablespoon of the mixture on the paper and flatten it a bit with the spoon or a spatula.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Then turn over each latke and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until both sides are browned.
- Place the latkes on a double layer of paper towel to dab off any excess oil.
- Serve with sour cream.
Margo Sugarman is a business writer by profession. She lives in Israel with her husband and three kids, and she loves to cook. A few months ago Margo started a wonderful food blog, The Kosher Blogger. Check it out!
You can’t have whole wheat in low carb… low carb means no wheat – ever.
You still have carbs and fats and you top it off with sour cream. Better to leave that off unless it is fat free. You don’t have the starches as you stated but still have to be careful.