Parsnip Latke served with Horseradish

Latkes dipped into the soup topped with some horseradish cream

So for my first recipe I thought I'd start with tonight's dinner: Parsnip Latkes with horseradish cream and Kale Soup.

I know that potatoes and onions are traditionally used to make latkes but the parsnip adds a little zing to them and make them extra crispy. If you don't have parsnip, you can use onions instead, use 1 onion for 2-3 potatoes. 

To be honest, the kale soup had been sitting in the fridge for a few days... I'd been defeated by the amount of kale we've been getting in out veggie box lately (from Riverford) and didn't know what else to do with it so I threw it in a pot with some onions, garlic, potatoes, stock and blended it all together. You can pretty much use any soup but the latkes are perfectly respectable (read DELICIOUS) when served alone or with some horseradish cream.

For the Parnsip Latkes (I adapted this recipe Smitten Kitchen for what I had lying around)
Makes at least 12, excluding those used for tasting while cooking :-)

Ingredients:
1 large potato
4 medium sized horseradishes
Juice of 1 lemon
2-3 spring onions, sliced thinly
1/4 cup whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
1/4 cup soya flour (or some other high protein flour, though you could just use some more whole wheat flour)
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil for frying (this uses quite a bit)

How to:
Peel and grate the potato and horseradish using a coarse grater (or anything else you've got handy).
Using paper towels or a clean kitchen towel, dry the grated horseradish and potato until there are quite dry - this ensures extra crispy latkes!

Transfer the grated veggies into a bowl and add the lemon juice and spring onions. Mix.
 In another bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, salt and pepper (to taste) and the 3 eggs. Add to the veggies and mix well.

Pour olive oil into a heavy pan (cast iron is best but you can use any pan you have lying around) so that the oil is about 3-5mm deep (!!). Heat up the oil until it starts to sizzle - the guideline is that a drop of water flicked in the oil should hiss and sputter. Then try to keep the temperature as constant as possible, adding oil to the pan if necessary through the frying process.

Using your fingers, grab a small ball of mix, roll it then flatten it between your palms. Throw it (gently) into the pan. Repeat until the pan is full, though leave yourself some space to be able to flip them. Let each side cook about 3-4 minutes.
Once a latke is done frying, put it out onto some brown paper or kitchen paper towel to get some of the excess oil off.

Serve as is or with some horseradish cream or any other sauce of your choice.

Enjoy!

Just keep on frying!