Tonight marks the beginning of Chanukah, the Jewish festival of lights. Jews celebrate their victory over the Greeks and the dedication (Chanukah’s translation from Hebrew) of the Temple in Jerusalem. In the Chanukah story, a small quantity of oil to light the Temple’s menorah (one day’s worth) miraculously lasted eight days, and it is customary to eat latkes (in oil) to commemorate this miracle.
But let’s take this miracle to a new level….a culinary miracle.
Normally, about 2 tablespoons of oil can only make 3 latkes. With my recipe, it can make a whole batch of 12! It’s a Chanukah miracle!
For every 4 latkes, just add two teaspoons of oil before placing the latkes in the pan. This allows you to control how much oil you’re using. I use a pastry brush to coat the pan.
It’s also a healthy miracle. Add some additional anti-oxidant power from the sweet potatoes and cinnamon, and super food spices like turmeric / black pepper and ginger (anti-inflammatory), and cumin (helps with digestion).
May the miracle of Chanukah and this new recipe bring you a holiday filled with love, mindfulness, and…. deliciousness!
Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato (about 11 oz.), peeled and grated
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup onion or scallions, chopped
1 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil (divided into 2 teaspoon portions)
Directions:
- Combine sweet potatoes, onions, flour and spices into a large bowl.
- Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat. When hot, add 2 teaspoons of oil into pan until coated. You may want to use a silicone pastry brush to ensure full coating.
- Take approximately 1/3 cup of the sweet mixture, and shape into pancake, and place in pan. Once in pan, flatten with a spatula. Place 4 pancakes in the pan at a time.
- Cook 3-4 minutes on each side, until fully browned.
- Serve with unsweetened apple sauce or Greek plain yogurt.

Nutritionist, cookbook author, publisher and health and wellness entrepreneur Mona Dolgov lives her lifelong mission of creating healthier food products, recipes and inventing simple culinary tricks to easily create practical and healthier lifestyles. She is President of You Live Right, LLC, where she has authored and published over 20 cookbooks for top-selling kitchen appliances, health and wellness products and grocery retailers, focused on simplicity and using nutritious ingredients. She also is a private nutritional coach, offers educational and fun dinner classes at Mona’s Kitchen, and is a speaker on nutritional well-being. Plus, she is very excited about launching Cook U. Follow Mona on Facebook or Instagram @monadolgov
She recently co-authored The Perfect Portion Cookbook, a 5-star rated cookbook (with Hollywood star Anson Willams) that makes American classics healthier and guides consumers to healthier portion control. This book (and Mona) was featured on the Today Show, The Doctors, and The Huffington Post. Learn more at www.theperfectportion.com
She is completing her second cookbook, Satisfy, that will be launched in 2020, focused on simple nutritionally balanced meals all 500 calories or less with real ingredients and real portions. All of the recipes are gluten-free.