2.19.2008

zombie pancakes! (aka sweet potato latkes)

Did any of you ever play the Sega Genesis/Super NES game Zombies Ate My Neighbors?*
It was a random spoof on almost every horror movie you can name, and it was a fun video game. My brother and I used to play it together. There was one level where alien meteroids crashed into earth and made odd purple plants grow all over the ground that can kill you unless you have a weedwacker to drive them off.
Not the best picture,* but those purple plant thingies were really frustrating.

A little while ago I found a sweet potato that had been hiding, forgotten, in a box. Strange purple growths?!
A ZOMBIE YAM! It was GIANT, too, which clearly means it had plans to take over the world.

Yes, I know, to follow to logic of the video game, it would technically be an alien meteroid (in fact, the meteroids were reddish orange... like sweet potatoes...?!), but I like zombies better than meteroids. So of course I had to use it in SOMETHING.

I fished through many cookbooks for a savory sweet potato pancake recipe, but I couldn't find any simple (ie, without a million ingredients), nightshade free latkes. So I made one up!

Zombie Pancakes (aka Sweet Potato Latkes)
(serves 2 easily, doubles or quadruples or does whatever you need it to do well [ie, does your bidding, like a true zombie])

1 small onion or large shallot
1 humungous zombie yam or two smallish yams
1/4 C chickpea flour (or normal flour - see note)
1/2 cup water
generous pinch each salt and pepper
1-2 Tbsp oil (for frying)

Chop the onion or shallot into tiny pieces. Be careful not to cut yourself, as once a zombie [yam] smells blood, you're toast. Wash the yam carefully, to remove any sort of dirt it might have drudged up with it from the grave. You don't have to peel it unless you want to remove undead growth. Grate the yam. It will probably fight back, or look at you poignantly to try to remind you that it was once a loveable yam, but it's all a ploy to stop you from eating it. Once you've grated the yam, you're safe from any zombie contamination.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. If it seems too watery, add some more chickpea flour. It it seems too dry, add more water. Form into palm-sized patties.

Heat a small amount of oil (probably about 1-2 tsp per batch of latkes, depending on the size of your pan) over medium heat. Cook the latkes until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side.
You can serve these in multiple ways. The one in the back left has soy sour cream and dill (WAY recommended), the one on thr right has soy sour cream and garam masala - you could also serve them with chutney. Or gravy. Or ketchup. Or vegan tartar sauce. Some people like maple syrup on even their savory pancakes but that kinda grosses me out. People like that are probably zombies.

Note: You can probably use normal flour in place of the chickpea flour. I like chickpea flour because I wanted to make this gluten free, plus it adds a sort of "eggy" taste and binds better than wheat flour. But it's not necessary.

*- I do not claim any sort of rights to Zombies Ate My Neighbors. I didn't create it or any of the images associated with it. I just played it a lot. Don't sue me. Or I'll sic my sweet potato on you.

12 comments:

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said... Best Blogger Tips

ha haha! zombie anything is better than not-zombie anything! but wait - if you eat zombie latkes do you turn into one???

man, they look delicious, too.

Vegan_Noodle said... Best Blogger Tips

Oh I remember the days of playing video games with my brother (not the zombies one, but others)... good times. Crazy how you turned a zombie potato into such a yummy dish! I've never had sweet potato latkes (or any latke for that matter) but I have this feeling I would love them....

Rural Vegan said... Best Blogger Tips

Ha - thanks for giving me a good laugh first thing this morning! =)

ChocolateCoveredVegan said... Best Blogger Tips

Ooh, your hot-n-steamy affair with your Mr. Blender sounds scandalous ;o)

Yikes, what a scary-looking sweet potato! You did the right thing by transforming him into a not-so-scary latke!

Jamie said... Best Blogger Tips

Wow nice job making something out of that hideous beast. I wonder if you included the purple tentacles for extra zip.
That video game looks very familiar.

Emilie said... Best Blogger Tips

nice! i love sweet potato anything, but these look especially good and i like that they came from such a crazy lookin spud.

Ashasarala said... Best Blogger Tips

Haha That is so awesome! I used to play that game ALL THE TIME over at my friend's house. I think I must have been 10 or 11 at the time. That and Final Fantasy VI was where it was happenin'.

Jen said... Best Blogger Tips

Nice parallel between the Super NES world and the scary sweet potato world. Personally I think I could eat that meal you created if you have never showed me the before picture.

jd said... Best Blogger Tips

You crack me up - "Zombie Pancakes" - I love it!!

Oh, & I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who has scary potatoes lurking in the depths of my kitchen!

Those latkes look fantastic :)

LizNoVeggieGirl said... Best Blogger Tips

whoa, that yam is quite "zombie-ish" haha - love the latke dish!

Ruby Red said... Best Blogger Tips

That sweet potato is frightening! But the sweet potato latkes look amazing (as long as you don't use yams with purple growth), and I've added them to my "to make" list. :) I love chickpea flour!

J.J. said... Best Blogger Tips

When my sweet potatoes get like that, I always assume they've fermented or gone bad...