The holidays are over and it is almost the end of January. I must stop using the holidays as an excuse not to get things done. You know what I mean. In December if there were tasks that needed attention, that little voice in your head said “First thing after the holidays, I will do X, Y and Z.” And how did that go exactly?
For me, not too well. Each day I procrastinated a bit more because I felt like I was still in “put everything off until after the holidays” mode. You know exactly what I mean, don’t you?
Well those days are over. Today is Monday, a whole new week. February is almost here so all those holiday excuses are just inexcusable. Ha.
Having said all of this and berating myself for being a bit pokey about things, I don’t want to go to fast here with the “to-do list”. So let’s start with a really, really, really easy dinner that everyone will love. And I mean EVERYONE. Kids and big people. EVERYONE. There isn’t anyone who doesn’t like crispy potato pancakes and when you add delicious butternut squash, you have a whole party in a pancake. Orange and white striped pancakes. Cannot beat that.
Veggie noodles are the new pasta!
I know everyone is doing the zoodle thing. You know. Zucchini spirals. Made in a spiralizer. And you can even spiralize butternut squash but it isn’t called zoodling I guess. The zoodling craze is really a great development in the world of food because even a purist like me who loves pasta, can fool myself into believing zucchini spirals are pasta. If you close your eyes, this definitely works. Not perfect, but definitely an acceptable departure from carbs. If you only do it once in a while. Not for real forever. Because everyone would just miss pasta like crazy.
But back to the butternut squash spirals. They are a TOTAL PAIN to spiralize. The squash is hard as a rock and unforgiving. You turn and turn and turn and it makes badly formed shreds. Zucchini is fine. Butternut squash not so great. So imagine my delight when my local grocery store starts selling butternut squash noodles. I am beside myself with happiness.. I can have butternut squash spirals whenever I want without feeling like I am going to toss the spiralizer out of the window.
This recipe is just so darn easy. You mix pre-shredded potatoes. I LOVE Simply Potatoes. This is such a great product because it saves you not only from having to peel and shred a zillion potatoes, but also it avoids that whole problem with the potatoes turning into a dark mess. Two problems solved. No shredding potatoes and no spiralizing your own butternut squash.
Make your own butternut squash noodles!
If you can’t find the pre-cut butternut squash noodles and you have the patience and fortitude to spiralize it yourself, at least do yourself a favor and prepare the squash in a way where you can avoid cutting your hand off. You have a big slick object that is rock hard. And you need a big sharp knife to cut off the ends and then halve the squash to remove the seeds. How do you manage the risk, you ask? It’s easy. Poke 5 holes in the squash with the tip of a knife and microwave it for 8 minutes or until the outside is just a bit soft. Not soft soft. Just soft enough that you can get a knife part way into the squash to cut off the ends so you don’t need to hammer a knife into it (ok, I might have actually resorted to such a stupid move).
Once you have mixed the shredded potatoes and the squash you add some fresh sage and nutmeg, an egg, a bit of flour and baking powder and off you go. Saute the little darlings in a hot pan (or bake them in the oven on a sheet pan) until they are nice and brown and serve with sour cream or Greek yoghurt. Vegetarian never tasted so good (or appealing to a wide audience)! Enjoy easy, quick and tasty. You need such things after the holiday season which definitely lingers on if you don’t feel like doing a lot of extra things! Happy eating.
Crispy Shredded Butternut Squash and Potato Pancakes
This is just the easiest recipe to make with a little help from a package of pre-shredded potatoes and spiralized butternut squash. Your family will love this.
Ingredients
- 20 ounces Simply Potatoes
- 10 ounces butternut squash “noodles”
- 1 small onion grated
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage chopped or use 1 ½ teaspoons dried rubbed between your fingers to release the oils
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 eggs beaten
- 6 tablespoons flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- sour cream and chopped cilantro optional for garnish
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 250 degrees for warming the pancakes (or 400 degrees if you are baking them). Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
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In a large bowl mix all of the ingredients except oil and butter with your hands until everything is well incorporated.
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Heat a large skillet over high heat. When the skillet is very hot, lower the heat to medium high and add 1 tablespoon of the oil. When the oil is hot add 1 tablespoon of butter and five to six of the pancakes. Using a small ice cream scoop will make the pancakes more even. Do not crowd the pancakes.
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Cook for 5-6 minutes undisturbed until the bottoms are browned. Flip the pancakes over and cook on the other side for another 6 minutes.
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Remove the first batch of pancakes from the skillet and put them on the lined pan. Leave them in the oven to warm and repeat the process twice more.
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If you would rather bake them in the oven, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a foil-lined sheet pan with cooking spray. Scoop out the pancakes (do not crowd them) and put them on the pan and bake them for 12-15 minutes then turn them and bake them for 10 more minutes. You may have to use two pans if the pancakes are too close together.
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If you want them to be more brown and crispy, you can run them under the broiler for a minute or so before serving but do not do this if you have used parchment paper to line the pan.
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The pancakes can stay in the oven for up to a half hour before serving at 250 degrees.
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Serve with the sour cream and cilantro, if using.