Crisp on the outside, soft in the middle, oca latkes are a delicious way to enjoy this Andean tuber. Serve as a light lunch or supper with yoghurt and a green salad, or as a side to a main meal. They even make an intriguing dinner party starter and will almost certainly get a lively conversation going. Traditional and vegan options.
Coarsely grate the ocas and onion. A food processor is ideal for this, although you can use a box grater if that's all you have.
Pile the shreds into a clean tea towel. Gather the edges together and twist the top to squeeze as much of the water as you can get out. The dryer the ocas, the crisper the latkes will be.
Preheat the oven to 100℃ (80℃ fan, 212℉, Gas ¼).
Mix the oca and onion with the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Make sure everything is as evenly distributed as possible. You can do this with a fork or your fingers.
Leave the mixture to rest for a few minutes whilst you prepare for cooking.
Heat 3 tbsp oil in a large non-stick pan over a medium high heat. I use a cast iron frying pan for this. Place a wire rack on a baking tray and put it on the middle shelf of the oven. Line a large plate with kitchen paper.
Take a heaped tablespoon of the oca mixture and place it in the hot oil. Flatten it to form a thinnish round measuring approximately 8 centimetres (3-4 inches). Repeat until the pan is full. I get four in my pan.
Fry for about four minutes when the bottom should be crisp and darkly golden. Use the fish slice to flip the latkes over and fry for a further four minutes on the other side.
Once cooked, transfer to the plate lined with kitchen paper and leave to drain for a couple of minutes. Then transfer to the wire rack in the oven.
Repeat the process until there's no oca mixture left. You will need to add a little more oil as you go along.
Serve immediately whilst crisp and warm. Don't leave them in the oven for longer than thirty minutes or the latkes will dry out too much and might burn.
Vegan Latkes
Follow the process as above with the following exception.
Make a batter with the chickpea flour, water, salt and pepper in the bowl before adding the grated oca and onion. Mix well and proceed as above.
OR for a rosti style latke, place the whole mixture into the hot pan. Spread it out to the edges and flatten it down with the fish slice.
Cover the top of the pan with a lid and fry for eight minutes. This will help to cook the inside.
Turn the rosti over as best you can. Don't worry if it breaks up, you can pat it down again to form a round. Fry for a further eight minutes with the lid on.
Remove the lid to make sure any water evaporates and fry for a further two minutes.
Place a serving plate over the top of the pan and invert onto the plate. Be careful, especially if using a heavy pan and make sure you use oven gloves.
Slice and serve.
Notes
You can do a straight swap and use potatoes instead of oca to make these latkes.Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on serving size and exact ingredients used.