Sweet potato latkes, or potato pancakes, made with chickpea flour and plenty of spice. These are gluten free, optionally vegan, so easy, and perfectly crisp.
Shred the sweet potato and onion into a large bowl. Add the chickpea flour, egg (or water), oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper.
Use a wooden spoon to mix very well, making sure no streaks of flour remain. Set aside to rest while the pan heats.
Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Make sure the pan is hot before starting to cook the latkes or they won't crisp.
Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the latke mixture into the hot pan, flattening slightly with the back of the (metal) spoon.
Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the bottoms are golden, then flip and flatten with the spatula. You may need to add more oil at this point. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, or until both sides are golden and crisp.
Cook three or four latkes at a time, but don't crowd the pan. Repeat until all of the batter has been used.
You can place the finished pancakes into a warm oven to keep warm until they're finished cooking. Serve hot with your desired toppings.
Notes
• To make vegan latkes, leave out the egg and use 2 tablespoons of water instead. They are slightly less crisp (see notes on this in the post) but still very good.• The mixture might be on the wet side depending on the density of your sweet potato. They should come together and crisp up as you fry them, but you can add more flour if needed.• It is very important that the pan is hot. The latke mixture should sizzle as soon as it hits the pan and cook very quickly - if it's taking ages, you need to turn up the heat (a cold pan = greasy latkes).