I make these latkes when I am craving vegetables and still feeling the need to do the Hanukah olive oil ‘thing.’ I love them.  The recipe comes from Smitten Kitchen, to make it more latke-like and less pancake-y I have reduced the eggs to 4.  The original recipe calls for 6, I like that as well.

I like making them large, so you eat 1 large plate-sized latke/pancake. And I love the okonomiyaki sauce!

Yes, that’s boxed mac and cheese with the latke – the joys of having a 6 year old around.

The colors while mixing this were beautiful – cabbage, carrots, kale and scallions…

While I grow carrots and kale, my kale is all gone and my carrots are too small still. So, the main veggies are not local.

Japanese Vegetable Pancake Latkes

very slightly adapted from smittenkitchen.com 

Pancakes
1/2 small head cabbage, very thinly sliced (5 to 6 cups shreds) (a mandoline is useful here)
4 medium carrots, peeled into ribbons with a vegetable peeler or sliced extremely thin on the mandoline
5 lacinato kale leaves, ribs removed, leaves cut into thin ribbons
4 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs, lightly beaten (locally raised)
Canola, safflower or peanut oil for frying

Tangy Sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (note: this is not vegetarian)
1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine or sake (I used white wine)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey (local)
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

Make the pancakes: Toss cabbage, carrot, kale, scallions and salt together in a large bowl.

Toss mixture with flour so it coats all of the vegetables. Stir in the eggs.

Heat a large heavy skillet on medium-high heat. Coat the bottom with oil and heat that too.

To make a large pancake, add 1/4 of the vegetable mixture to the skillet, pressing it out into a 1/2 – to 3/4-inch pancake. Gently press the pancake down flat.

Cook until the edges beging to brown, about 3 minutes. 30 seconds to 1 minute later, flip the pancake with a large spatula. Cook on the other side until the edges brown, and then again up to a minute more (you can peek to make sure the color is right underneath).

Regardless of pancake size, you can keep them warm on a tray in the oven at 200 to 250 degrees until needed.

Make the okonomiyaki sauce: Combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and let simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until smooth and thick.

Serves 4.