Recipe: Beet-potato latkes with horseradish-caraway crème fraîche

Total time: 2 hours, 10 minutes, plus chilling time

Servings: 4

Note: Adapted from Eric Greenspan. Make the crème fraîche and the carrot purée up to two days ahead.

Horseradish-caraway crème fraîche

2 tablespoons caraway seeds

1 cup crème fraîche

1/4 cup freshly grated horseradish

Salt

Pepper

1. Place the caraway seeds in a small sauté pan and cook over medium heat, shaking occasionally, until they become aromatic and begin to pop, 3 to 5 minutes.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the crème fraîche with the toasted seeds and the horseradish. Season with one-half teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper, or to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days. Serve cool.

Carrot purée

3 tablespoons canola oil

2 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely diced

2 cups fresh carrot juice

Salt

Pepper

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the diced carrot and cook for 2 minutes, until the color is vibrant. Add the carrot juice and bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat to maintain a good simmer. Cook until the liquid has been reduced by a little more than half, 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Remove the mixture from the heat, cool for several minutes, and purée in a blender or with an immersion blender. Season with three-fourths teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper, or to taste. Cover and refrigerate for up to a week. Serve at room temperature.

Latkes and assembly

1 large red beet

3 Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)

2 medium red onions

1 carrot

2 cups canola oil, divided

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup flour

Salt

Pepper

Kosher salt

1 recipe horseradish-caraway crème fraîche

1 recipe carrot purée

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Trim the beet, wash it and wrap it in foil. Roast it in the oven for 1 hour, until a knife easily pierces through the flesh. Cool before handling; remove the skin.

2. Peel the potatoes, onions and carrot. Using a box grater, grate the potatoes, carrot and beet separately, squeezing the moisture out of each vegetable using a colander or paper towels, then combine the vegetables in a large bowl. Grate the onion, squeezing the moisture from half and adding it to a large bowl with the other vegetables. Reserve the remaining grated onion.

3. Heat a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil and the reserved grated onion. Sauté the onion, stirring occasionally, until soft and caramelized, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and add to the bowl of grated vegetables, tossing to combine.

4. Stir in the eggs and flour, and season with one-half teaspoon salt and one-fourth teaspoon pepper.

5. Heat the remaining oil in a medium skillet until it shimmers. Drop the latke batter (beginning with a single “tester latke”), a quarter cup at a time, flattening slightly with a heat-proof spatula to form a pancake. Fry the latkes, 1 or 2 at a time, for about 2 minutes until they’re a golden color on one side, then flip and cook 1 to 2 minutes on the other side. Remove the cooked latkes to drain on a paper towel-lined tray, sprinkling each with a good pinch of kosher salt, and continue with the remaining batter; you should have about 14 to 16 latkes.

6. Serve immediately withthe horseradish-caraway crème fraîche and the carrot purée.

Each serving of 4 latkes with two tablespoons each of crème fraîche and carrot purée: 585 calories; 11 grams protein; 60 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams fiber; 35 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 118 mg. cholesterol; 766 mg. sodium.