Rutabaga Latkes

Latkes Image by iStock Photo/@Handmade pictures
Serves: 4 to 6
Rutabaga, the zippier relative of the turnip, is similarly overlooked as a drab winter storage crop vegetable. These simple latkes help the humble rutabaga make a star appearance over the more traditional potato pancake. Because they are dense, using a food processor to shred the vegetables is much easier than doing it by hand. These are great paired with applesauce.
1 large rutabaga, peeled and shredded (1½ to 2 pounds)
2 large carrots, peeled and shredded (about 6 ounces)
1 small red onion, peeled and shredded (about 3 ounces)
1 cup packed, stemmed, and ribboned spinach, Swiss chard, or kale
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
¼ cup all-purpose flour, or more as needed to hold raw latkes together
6 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola, or more if necessary for frying
Sour cream, ricotta, pesto, or applesauce for garnish
-
Prepare a plate with layers of paper towels to drain the pancakes.
-
Place the rutabaga, carrots, red onion, and greens in a large bowl and mix well.
-
Using paper towels, squeeze out excess moisture from the vegetable mixture in the bowl. Add the beaten eggs, salt, cumin, and pepper, and toss together to fully combine. Scatter the flour over the mixture and toss together to incorporate.
-
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Working in batches so as not to crowd the pancakes, use a ¼-cup measure to scoop the vegetable mixture into the skillet. Flatten the mixture gently, using the back of the measuring cup or a spatula, making sure the pancakes do not touch each other. Cook until golden brown on one side, about 4 minutes, then turn and brown for about 4 minutes on the other side. Transfer the latkes to the lined plate to drain. Cook the remaining batter, adding 1 tablespoon of oil or more, if necessary, between each batch.
-
Serve warm and top with a spoonful of sour cream, ricotta, pesto, or applesauce.
Excerpted from The Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook. Copyright 2020 by Elisa Spungen Bildner and Robert Bildner. Reproduced by permission of The Countryman Press. All rights reserved.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Ye debuts ‘Heil Hitler’ music video that includes a sample of a Hitler speech
- 2
Culture Cardinals are Catholic, not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes?
- 3
News School Israel trip turns ‘terrifying’ for LA students attacked by Israeli teens
- 4
Fast Forward Student suspended for ‘F— the Jews’ video defends himself on antisemitic podcast
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture A pocket guide to the Jewish grandmothers of Mexico
-
Opinion I supported Israel’s actions in Gaza in October 2023 — not anymore
-
Fast Forward Police clash with pro-Palestinian protesters in Brooklyn as Columbia library takeover fallout continues
-
Opinion This week proved it: Trump’s approach to antisemitism at Columbia is horribly ineffective
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.