Potato Pancakes

One of my favorite Easter memories dates back to my senior year in highschool, when my friends Phil, Siobhan, and I made potato pancakes over Easter break. We used Phil's mom's recipe and ended up with what I remember to be about 3 million potato pancakes. They were delicious, but we deep fried them in oil, which is fine when you have a 17 year old metabolism, but not now. I have also been known to frequent the Red Lion in Silverlake, an open-air beer garden where the hefeweizen is cold and the potato pancakes are delicious (but so not vegan and so not low-fat).
After having some success with the idea of baked eggplant Parmesan, I wanted to try something similar with potato pancakes. Taking the eggs out of the mix created a binding issue, so I used a batter-like mixture to hold it all together. By broiling the pancakes and brushing oil on top, I got the crunch that comes from a good potato pancake with a very small amount of the fat. Also, I pre-cooked my onions, because I hate the taste of raw onions, which you can easily get stuck with if your pancakes aren't well-cooked all the way through.


Potato Pancakes

• 5 small gold potatoes
• 1/3 c. onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 11/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 4 tbsp. whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tsp egg replacer mixed with 2 tbsp. water
• 6 tbsp. unsweetened unflavored soy milk
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• salt to taste

Saute chopped onion over medium heat in a non-stick pan until soft. Wash and shred potatoes (don't bother to peel them, the skin is where they hide all the flavor).
Mix baking powder, garlic salt, pepper, and flour. Add pre-mixed egg replacer and soy milk and mix well. It should resemble very, very thick pancake batter.
Add cooked onions and batter to a large mixing bowl and stir in potatoes. Add 2 tsp. cornstarch and mix well.
Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Pick up a heaping tablespoon full of the potato mixture and  pat it in between your hands to form a pancake and place on the baking sheet. Repeat until all the mixture is gone.
Broil on low for 7 minutes and flip. Immediately after flipping, brush the pancakes with olive oil (use about 3/4th). Broil on this side for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Flip the pancakes again and brush with olive oil, then broil for another minute.
Transfer pancakes to a plate and sprinkle salt on top. Serve warm with applesauce or vegan sour cream.

Makes 10 pancakes at ~77 calories each.