Carrot and Celeriac Fritters or Latkes (Gluten Free)

Shredded carrots and celeriac combined into patties and fried to perfection. These could be a side dish, breakfast, or a fun addition to a latke party.

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One of the great things about root vegetables is that they keep such a relatively long time. Just like the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve in the basement (new and improved with white and sweet potato subdivisions!), root vegetables are an excellent resource for folks trying to eat locally grown foods in the winter months. I'm glad to support farmers who offer extended deliveries after the regular Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share season ends, knowing that for the most part I'll get long-storing vegetables that will see me into the new year.

I've got root vegetables filling up my crisper right now. After the local apples vanished (sad face there, there's nothing like a local apple in terms of flavor) I'd usually transition to crispers full of citrus fruit from the Band Fruit Fundraiser. But seasons change, and your kid who has been in band throughout high school moves on to college where you get to write big checks and not get a case of tangelos in return. So no citrus--right now I've got glorious carrots from the farm share packed into my crisper.

Last year I combined carrots and celeriac in a mash that I whimsically entitled Carrot and Celeriac Mash. Since I still had some celeriac kicking around the crisper, I opened to shred it first and see where that went. I have some experience with the shredded random root vegetables--I've shared Turnip Fritters, Zucchini Pancakes, and a Bacon Parmesan Turnip Fritter recipe here before--so it's in my comfort zone. These days I am all about staying in my comfort zone cooking-wise since I'm busier now than I was a year ago. Happy busy, good busy, but still busy.

For more recipes using carrots, please see my Carrot Recipes Collection. For more recipes using celeriac, please see my Celeriac Recipes Collection. These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

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Carrot and Celeriac Fritters or Latkes (serves 4 as a side dish)

Ingredients

• 1 cup coarsely shredded carrot
• 1 cup peeled and coarsely shredded celeriac
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon salt (I use kosher)
• ¼ teaspoon pepper (I'm estimating as I'm grinding directly into the bowl)
• ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• oil to cover the bottom of the skillet (I used a combination of vegetable + olive)

options for serving--butter, cheese, and/or an over easy fried egg

Instructions

1. Combine vegetables in a colander and squeeze to extract as much juice as possible.
2. Transfer vegetables to a large bowl and stir in eggs until thoroughly combined.
3. Sprinkle spices, cornstarch, and baking powder over top of vegetable mixture, and stir well.
4. Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. 
5. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of the skillet (if you want a depth I can't help ya with that--I'm really stingy when frying things). 
6. Scoop about ⅓ cup of vegetable mixture into skillet at a time, spreading it out into the shape of a pancake. Continue adding scoops of vegetable, making sure to have room for flipping them over. I can fit 3 or 4 in my 12 inch skillet at one time.
7. Fry for 3 to 5 minutes per side, flipping once, until browned on both sides.
8. Transfer cooked fritters to a paper towel-lined plate and keep warm until they are all cooked.
9. If you start with a small amount of oil like I do, you'll need to add more oil partway through cooking the batch. I'll move all the completed fritters to the plate, add the extra oil, and give it a chance to heat up before scooping the next mounds of batter into the skillet.
10. Serve as a side dish with a bit of butter and/or cheese, or make it a meal with a fried egg.