Latkes are traditionally made of shredded potato. But Scott Bean likes to take things up a notch.
He made us latkes from beets, sweet potatoes and carrots and he topped them with a horseradish and dill “cream” made from silken tofu. (Recipes from Veganomicon.)
They were delish!
Now, Scott used to hate beets with a passion. So the real story here is that we have slain another hated vegetable. Granted, these little latkes are fried so it probably wasn’t the healthiest way to go about it. But the beet has now gone the way of kale (made tasty in enchiladas), cooked spinach (an essential component of my potato curry), cooked broccoli (yummy in stir fry), and brussel sprouts (a perfect pair with pine nuts over pasta).
Guess what’s on the menu this week at the Bean house? Avocado*, turnip greens, beet greens, chard, and radish greens. Wish us luck!
*Scott cut one up just now and commented, “I don’t know why I was so scared of cutting into an avocado. It’s like being scared of walking”. Hehe.
Verdict: Latkes were a tasty way to tackle beets, but too fried for normal consumption. The horseradish dill “cream” was fabulous and also tasted great on the buckwheat blinis we made for dinner the night after the latkes. The blinis called for garbanzo bean flour, which gave me a reason to use my grinder for something other than wheat(!), but were pretty much glorified yeasty pancakes and weren’t quite as yummy as my normal pancakes.
We’re having a good time playing in the kitchen. (Can you tell? 
) It gives me and Scott a chance to relax and talk and Mackenzie is usually highly entertained by dinner preparations. I often let her smell and visually inspect ingredients. After all, she’ll get them for breakfast (sorta).
March 12, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Hey Anne – I was reading through your bread recipe, is that the dough conditioner from debbie? If I remember correct, I think she uses that too, and was I wondering if they were one and the same. Great pictures, and I think I may try those date balls. They look yummy!
March 13, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Those do look good! I’ve tried a bunch of recipes with beets and most of them are a no-go. I’ve sort of given up on them.
Did I tell you I bought the Veganomicon Cookbook? Looks like it has some incredible recipes!
March 16, 2008 at 2:49 pm
I agree with littleraskills…the latkes do look good! If I could actually find a way to get my hubby and kids to eat beets without flopping around on the floor convulsing, I’d be thrilled. Matt likes horseradish, so if Scot would be willing to part with more recipes, I’ll try them. (I need to find a copy of that cookbook,too!)