Sweet Potato and Yam Latkes

I am generally not a big fan of baked sweet potatoes or yams at Thanksgiving (and I cannot stand candied ones with marshmallow), but I wanted latkes and have been avoiding conventional potatoes and had some sweet potato and yam to use. I am glad I experimented. Sweet potato and yam latkes are absolutely delicious.  I grated both the sweet potato and yams in equal parts, added some grated fennel bulb, celery root, and shallots (actually I thin shredded them on the mandolin), seasoned with kosher salt and hot smoked pepper, and held it all together with an egg incorporated in.  I fried the pancakes in hot peanut oil in a cast iron pan.  

The difference between sweet vs. regular potatoes.  Why sweet potatoes are a better option if you are worried about blood sugar.  

Sweet potatoes are only distantly related to regular potatoes. While originating in South America, they are closer related to morning glories than regular potatoes (regular potatoes are members of the nightshade family such as tomatoes). Although the orange sweet potato is often called a "yam" in parts of North America, the sweet potato is botanically very distinct from a genuine yam (Dioscorea), which is native to Africa and Asia and belongs to the monocot family Dioscoreaceae.

The sweet flavor was still there but in a savory way. The sweet potato and yam latkes were better tasting than regular potatoes latkes.  That is saying a lot, because I am a big fan of regular potato pancakes.  

Mine looked between this...

And this

I served them with sour cream and apple sauce.  They would go great with some cranberry too, which I will do later today.