Chanukkah = Latkes For Everyone! (Allergy-Friendly Recipe Included)

Chanukkah is speeding by, and if you love Chanukkah like my family does, you don't want to miss out on the latkes - deliciously pan-fried potato pancakes.  But, if you have food allergies or intolerances, chances are you have been missing out on these greasy gems.  Well miss out no more!  A few years ago, when I first suffered from food intolerances, I developed this recipe.  It's one thing to sit by and watch people eat bagels and cream cheese when you have dairy and gluten sensitivities; after a while, you learn to deal with the loss.  But sit by and watch latkes being eaten by the half-dozen?  Nothing doing!  And so the creation of the vegan, dairy-free (they usually are), egg-free, gluten-free latke first became a necessity and then a treat that could fool even the most traditional of latke-eaters.  All it takes is a few replacements to the traditional recipe.

Behold!  The Allergy-Friendly Potato Latke!  For those of you who have no allergies or intolerances and would rather stick with the original recipe, I have included those ingredients in parentheses.

The Allergy-Friendly Potato Latkes

Makes so many! A few dozen!

6 medium baking potatoes

1 medium onion

2 "eggs" made from Ener-G Egg Replacer (instead of 2 eggs, beaten)

1/2 cup Glutino gluten-free bread crumbs (instead of matzo meal)

1 1/2 teaspoons each salt and pepper

oil for frying

Using a food processor, finely mince the onion and transfer into a large mixing bowl.  In a small bowl, combine one tablespoon of Energ-G Egg Replacer with 4 tablespoons of warm water and mix until combined, then add it to the onion.  Add the bread crumbs, salt and pepper to the onion and egg replacement bowl and mix to combine.  Next, peel the potatoes, cut into one-inch chunks and place them in the food processor in batches.  Puree the potatoes and transfer them into the large bowl with the other ingredients and mix to combine.  You will need to work fast so that your potatoes don't have time to oxidize.  Potatoes that are peeled and exposed to the air for a long time will first turn pink and then black.  The flavor changes when they turn to black.  You may want to keep your peeled potatoes in a bowl of cold water until you are ready to cube and puree them.

Once your potatoes are all pureed and mixed with the rest of the ingredients, it's time for frying.  Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and fill it about 1/4 inch deep of oil (I used canola).  Test to see that the oil is hot by wetting a fingertip with water and flicking it at the oil.  If it sizzles and bubbles, it's ready.  Don't splash too much water in there or the oil will shoot back at you!

Add the potato mixture to the pan with a soup spoon by tipping the spoon over sideways into the oil to create as little splash as possible.  When the edges of the latkes are brown and the top is mostly white and only a bit pink in the middle, use a slotted spatula to flip them as gently as possible so as not to splash the oil.

Once all of your frying is done, serve with applesauce (my family's favorite tradition) or sour cream (not dairy-free friendly, but if it's not your issue, enjoy!).

I think these taste as good as the original version so you can make them for everyone.  See if anyone notices the difference.

Happy allergy-free, vegan Chanukkah!  Leave a comment and let me know if you plan on making them!