-
Prep time
15 minutes
-
Cook time
10 minutes
-
Serves
2 to 4
Author Notes
Not my grandma’s latkes or my mom’s. Because instead of starchy potatoes, we’re turning to juicy, sweet asparagus. Surprisingly—and thrillingly—these green stalks work just as well come spring. While many asparagus recipes will instruct you to snap or cut off the fibrous woody ends, there’s no need to do that here. Just start grating at the frilly top, work your way down, and stop once you get an inch or two away from your fingertips, tossing whatever is left. As with potato pancakes, you want to be aggressive with how much you wring out the vegetable matter. Squeeze, squeeze, and then squeeze some more. Excess water is the enemy of crispy edges. (And I want the crispy edges—don’t you?) If you don’t have rye flour around, don’t fret. Whole-wheat would provide a similarly nutty, earthy flavor. And, in a pinch, all-purpose works, too, though the overall flavor will be milder. Sour cream and applesauce are my family’s go-to latke accompaniments, and I like to take a similar strategy with sour cream and peach jam. Full-fat Greek yogurt works, too, as would any jammy fruit compote. —Emma Laperruque
Continue After Advertisement
Watch This Recipe
Asparagus Latkes
Ingredients
-
1 pound
asparagus
-
8 ounces
yellow onion (about 1 medium or 2 small), halved and peeled
-
2
large eggs
-
1/4 cup
rye flour
-
1 teaspoon
kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
-
3/4 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
-
Neutral oil, for pan-frying
Directions
-
Coarsely grate the asparagus, starting at the top and discarding the bottoms. (If any stragglers resist the grater, just finely chop.) Coarsely grate the onion. (Same deal with the stragglers.)
-
Add the grated asparagus and onion to a tea towel. Wring and squeeze over the sink to remove as much water as possible.
-
Dump the dried asparagus and onion into a bowl. Add the eggs, flour, salt, and pepper. Stir with a fork until everything is combined.
-
Set a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and add 1/4 inch of oil. When the oil looks shimmery-hot, drop a pinch of the latke mixture in. If it instantly sizzles, you’re good to go.
-
Use a cookie scoop or a couple spoons to scoop and drop latkes into the oil (I estimate about 1 1/2 tablespoons per latke). Use a fork to flatten each mound into a pancake. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the bottoms are deeply browned, then use two forks to carefully flip. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack or paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Sprinkle with more salt, if you’d like.
-
Repeat with the remaining latke mixture until you’ve used all of it up.
Emma was the food editor at Food52. She created the award-winning column, Big Little Recipes, and turned it into a cookbook in 2021. These days, she's a senior editor at Bon Appétit, leading digital cooking coverage. Say hello on Instagram at @emmalaperruque.
See what other Food52ers are saying.