I Heart Cooking Clubs

Here it is, another  'semi' week for me with I Heart Cooking Clubs, where we are featuring Chef  Yotam Ottolenghi for the next 6 months.

This week it's all about the roots.   Root vegetables.  I have to say that  I love them-- I always have.  They just seem so rustic and homey--and they are very good  roasted with a bit of olive oil and kosher salt. 
That's how I would do them, BUT  Yotam Ottolenghi doesn't roll that way--he actually takes something and makes it better.

The potato latke  is something you might think of as common.  You hear about them often, especially around the holidays ( Hanukkah.)
I've never had them with parsnips though. I've never had a parsnip in my life, perhaps the only root vegetable I haven't had.   So, I thought I'd go out on a limb and do the Ottolenghi way with parsnips.  

And guess what?  I liked them.  I knew I would like them if made with potatoes, but the parsnips?  I was a bit cautious to be honest.  I didn't want to ruin a good thing,  but what do I know?   They were good.
They are my side dish for some ribs tonight---I personally wonder why we wait until a holiday to do this side dish--you needn't,  they'd go good with any type of  roasted meat. 

Latkes
from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi  and Sami Tamimi

5 1/2 cups peeled and grated waxy potatoes, such as Yukon Gold
2 1/2 cups  peeled and grated parsnips
2/3 cups finely chopped chives
4 egg whites
2 Tbs cornstarch
5 Tbs unsalted butter
6-7 Tbs sunflower oil
salt and freshly ground peppper
sour cream to serve

Rinse the potato in a large bowl of cold water, drain in a colander. Squeeze out any excess water and then spread out onto a clean kitchen towel to dry completely.

In a large bowl, mix together the potato, parsnip, chives, egg whites, cornstarch  1 tsp of salt and plenty of black pepper.

Heat half the butter and half the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Use your hands to  make patties of about 2 Tbls of the latke mix, squeeze firmly to remove some of the liquid.
Carefully  place as many patties you can comfortably fit into the pan, push them down gently and level them with the back of a spoon.  Fry over medium high heat for 3 minutes on each side.   The latkes need to be completely brown on the outside.  Remove the fried latkes from the oil, place on paper towels and keep warm while you cook the rest.  Add the remaining oil and butter as needed.
Serve at once with sour cream on the side.


While searching the internet for info on Yotam, I found this Youtube video trailer on the cookbook Jerusalem.   Um....I want them to come cook for me!  (no more me messing up their stuff)  They make everything look gorgeous.