Beet and Winter Squash Latkes

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Some months ago, I ate lunch out at a vegetarian restaurant that offered a menu of really intriguing ingredient combinations prepared so creatively and flavorfully that it would be hard to miss having meat at the meal. I was a vegetarian for a while, first an economic vegetarian—I just couldn’t afford most meat, then, having married a ethical vegetarian, merely continued the practice for a number of years more. We both fell off the vegetarian wagon one November because of a Thanksgiving turkey.

Regardless, there were so many all-vegetable meals that we had become fond of that we never really became whole-hearted meat eaters again. For sure, I do enjoy meat and would miss it now if I decided against eating it. Moderation in all things, I think, including moderation itself: it is good to feast, and it is good to fast. Hot fudge sundaes and huge green salads.

Still, most of the time, I think vegetables are more interesting than meat; there are many more kinds of them to eat than animals, and lots more variations of ways to cook them. Thank goodness, Toby and Tres seem to tolerate all-vegetable meals because with all the veges I grow, there are a lot to work through.

The entrée I chose at the restaurant was Beet and Potato Latkes made with sweet potatoes, and adorned with arugula greens, a dribble of melted marmalade and a smear of cilantro vinaigrette. The latkes also had apples and dates in them. They were absolutely delicious, and I thought, “I can make these.” Instead of sweet potato, I figured I’d use winter squash, which I have on hand. I decided also to leave the dates out of it.

I made these the other night for supper, served with a bit of sour cream, and accompanied by quinoa and zucchini. They went down very easily, and there were no leftovers.

Thank goodness for the grater blade on the food processor that whizzed through the beets and squash in a flash. If you have or prefer sweet potatoes, by all means use them. A mere quarter of apple, sprinkle of thyme, salt and pepper. I held mine together with one beaten egg, and fried them in olive oil, flattened as thin as I could make them. So while I turned them into a main dish, they are a perfectly lovely side with anything that needs some color on the plate, like chicken or some pale fish.

Beet and squash latkes sizzling on the frying pan.

Beet and squash latkes sizzling on the frying pan.

P.S. Our peanut butter sandwich conversation last week prompted Penelope Olson of Appleton to tell about her favorite combination: “Instead of just peanut butter and lettuce, add mayonnaise! I don’t mean spread a thin layer on the second slice of bread, I mean, rather, plop a good dollop on top of the peanut butter and spread it right to the edges of the bread. Then add a layer of really crunchy lettuce. It’s a combination that I have enjoyed since I was a child (much to my older siblings’ consternation and occasional derision…) and that’s been a long time!”

And Maureen Carter wrote, “I have a combination … that my older sister and I made often in our younger years. (I’m sure it might be considered an adult version due to its added tang).PB and KETCHUP. Try it; it still tastes good to me.”

I’m still summoning the courage to get out p.b. and ketchup at the same time.

Beet and Squash Latkes
Serves: Six to 8
 
Ingredients
  • 2 medium beets
  • 1 piece of winter squash, or sweet potato the size of one of the beets
  • 1 quarter of an apple
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • ¼ teaspoon thyme, or to taste
  • Olive or vegetable oil
Instructions
  1. Peel the beets and grate them and the squash or sweet potato. Grate the apple.
  2. Put beets, squash, and apple into a bowl and add the egg and thyme. Mix very well.
  3. Heat a frying pan over medium high heat, and add a bit of olive oil.
  4. Drop spoons full of the beet and squash on the pan and flatten with the back of the spoon.
  5. Cook until the latkes are golden brown on one side and then flip over to brown the other side.
  6. Drain on a paper towel, and keep them warm in an oven on low heat while you cook the rest of the latkes.
  7. Serve warm with a bit of sour cream, sprinkle of Parmesan, or a dribble of vinaigrette.

 

Sandy Oliver

About Sandy Oliver

Sandy Oliver Sandy is a freelance food writer with the column Taste Buds appearing weekly since 2006 in the Bangor Daily News, and regular columns in Maine Boats, Homes, and Harbors magazine and The Working Waterfront. Besides freelance food writing, she is a pioneering food historian beginning her work in 1971 at Mystic Seaport Museum, where she developed a fireplace cooking program in an 1830s house. After moving to Maine in 1988, Sandy wrote, Saltwater Foodways: New Englanders and Their Foods at Sea and Ashore in the 19th Century published in 1995. She is the author of The Food of Colonial and Federal America published in fall of 2005, and Giving Thanks: Thanksgiving History and Recipes from Pilgrims to Pumpkin Pie which she co-authored with Kathleen Curtin. She often speaks to historical organizations and food professional groups around the country, organizes historical dinners, and conducts classes and workshops in food history and in sustainable gardening and cooking. Sandy lives on Islesboro, an island in Penobscot where she gardens, preserves, cooks and teaches sustainable lifeways.