Baked Latkes - Brunch Folks

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cooking Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

600 g / 21 oz starchy potatoes
1 large banana shallot or ½ medium onion, very finely diced
8 g / 1½ tbsp ground flax seeds (I used golden flax)
20 g / 2 tbsp rice flour
20 g / 2 tbsp potato starch or cornstarch
½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp fine salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
Approx. 30 ml / 2 tbsp olive oil, to brush

Sour Cream Alternative (optional)

100 g / ¾ cup cashews or sunflower seeds (hulled)
80 ml / 1/3 cup water
A squeeze of lemon juice, to taste
Salt, to taste

Cooking Instructions

Scrub the potatoes well – unless they have a thick, inedible skin, there is no need to peel them. Use a paring knife to take off/out any blemishes.
Put prepared potatoes through a food processor fitted with a coarse grater attachment or grate them by hand.
Place grated potatoes inside a double cheesecloth (a nut bag would do, too) and allow them to rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200° C / 390° F (20° C / 70° F less if using fan function) and grab two metal baking trays lined with baking parchment (or a silicone mat).
Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the potatoes.
Place dry potatoes in a mixing bowl, add ground flax, diced shallot, baking powder, potato starch, rice flour, pepper and salt. Using your hands massage dry ingredients into the potatoes. They should clump together in your hands after you are done.
Brush a little bit of oil on the spots where you are going to be laying your latkes. Grab 3 tbsp worth of the mixture per latke, and using your hands shape the mixture into roundish patches without compressing the middle too much (you want it a bit thicker and bumpier). Tidy the edges so that they are not too thin as they will burn. Brush a little more oil on top of each latke.
Bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, use a spatula to transfer latkes to a plate and remove the paper/mat off the trays.
Brush latke-sized spots of oil on the baking trays, place the latkes on them (flip them in relation to how they were before) and brush them with a little oil. Carry on baking for another 10 minutes.
Finally, crank up the heat to 250º C / 480º F (20° C / 70° F less if using fan function), brush the latkes with a little more oil on both sides and bake for about 10-12 minutes, until golden brown in the middle. Consume straight away to enjoy all the crispiness.

Sour Cream Alternative

Soak cashews in boiling water for 20-30 minutes.
Drain and place in a small blender or a smoothie maker, add water (or soya milk for whiter color), a good pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Blend until smooth.
Add a little more water if the blender struggles – not too much as you want it as thick as possible. Taste and add more seasoning (salt & lemon juice) if needed. Refrigerate until needed.