The Best Butternut Squash Potato Latkes

Recently I’ve been thinking about one dish I could eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and feel completely happy and satisfied. It didn’t take me long to come up with the answer – it’s Butternut Squash and Potato Latkes. I grow up eating those, although in Ukraine we call them Derynu
 and make mostly with grated potato and onion. My mom always made Derynu
 as a quick dinner option and served them piping hot with a dollop of farm sour cream on top. Even as a kid I could easily eat half a dozen of those. No wonder, when I moved to Califonia, the first thing I made at my tiny kitchen was the American-Jewish version of my childhood favorite dish. I love them for breakfast, especially in winter, and always add a generous portion of grated butternut squash to celebrate the ingredients that are in season.

Talking about various versions of latkes, I tried about a dozen different recipes and finally came up with my own which I’m going to share with you today. The main difference is the proportion of ingredients and that I use cornstarch instead of more traditional all-purpose flour. I also add crispy fried sage on top and of course plenty of full-fat sour cream, just like in my childhood. Try it and let me know what you think!

Butternut Squash Potato Latkes

Recipe by Srima Khara

Servings

2-4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Calorieskcal

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups grated butternut squash

• 1 1/2 cups grated Yukon potato

• 1/4 cup grated onion

• 3 tbsp chopped green onion

• 1/2 cup corn starch

• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

• 2 tsp Kosher salt

• 1 large egg

• Sunflower or vegetable oil, for frying

• 1/2 cups sour cream

• Sage, small bunch

Directions

• In a colander mix together the grated squash, potato, and onion. Then press to squeeze out excess liquid.
• Transfer the veggies to a medium bowl and add the onions, cornstarch, egg, salt, and pepper. Stir everything together and adjust the seasoning to taste.
• Heat 1/4-inch of oil in a large heavy skillet. Working in batches, drop about 2 tablespoons of the squash mixture into the hot oil, flattening slightly with the back of the spoon. Fry until the latkes are golden-brown and crisp on both sides, carefully flipping halfway through, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Remove the latkes from the pan using a fork or spatula and place them on the wire cooling rack to drain.
• Meanwhile, pinch off leaves from sage. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat until the cooking thermometer registers 365°F .
• Fry about 6-7 sage leaves at a time until crisp, for 4-5 seconds. Transfer with to paper towels and sprinkle generously with coarse salt.
• Serve the latkes hot topped with sour cream and fried sage.