These baked potato pancakes with chard are a healthier version of potato latkes, as they use a fraction of the oil, are gluten-free, and are mixed with nutritional powerhouse Swiss Chard. They are baked in non-stick muffin pans so the texture is not as crispy as traditional latkes. They are more dense and more like pancakes, however, they have some crispiness on the outer layer, but they are definitely softer in the inside. The flavor however is terrific, making this lower-fat version well worth it.

I use green chard for this recipe as I like the coloring better, but feel free to play with rainbow chard as well. The pancakes pair well with a dollop or sour cream on top. To make the pancakes, grate the potatoes – I use russet as they are starchier than other potatoes and hold up well. Make sure to drain the potatoes in a colander while you’re prepping the rest of the ingredients and squeeze the excess water using paper towels before adding the potatoes to the chard.

In a food processor, add the chard and scallions and process until the vegetables are finely chopped. Add them to a bowl along with the drained potatoes. Add one egg, the potato starch, and salt and pepper to the bowl and mix through.

Using a pastry brush, brush the oil into the muffin tins about halfway high. Add about two tablespoons of the mixture to each muffin round and pat down.Make sure to squeeze out the excess water before adding the mixture to the  muffin cups and do not over stuff, err on teh side of less than more.  Place muffin tins into a 400° oven and cook for 10 minutes.

Remove muffin tins from oven and turn the pancakes over.  The pancakes may stick a bit so use a knife and cut around the edges before turning.  Place the muffin tins back into the oven for another 10 minutes. Repeat this step one more time with the last return to the oven being for only 5 minutes.  Serve with sour cream on the side.

Baked Potato Pancakes with Chard

Ingredients:

2 large russet potatoes, about 2 lbs in weight, peeled and grated

6 full scallions end cut off -about 2.5 oz

1/2 lb chard – white stems removed

1 tablespoon potato starch

1 egg

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 tablespoon pepper

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Grate the potatoes and drain the potatoes in a colander. In a food processor, add the chard and scallions and process until the vegetables are finely chopped, and add them to a bowl. Squeeze the excess water out of the potatoes using paper towels and add them to the chard mixture. Add the egg, the potato starch, and salt and pepper to the bowl and mix through.

Using a pastry brush, brush the oil into the muffin tins about halfway high. Add about two tablespoons of the mixture to each muffin round and pat down. Place muffin tins into a 400° oven and cook for 10 minutes. Remove muffin tines from oven and turn the pancakes over and place back into the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove the muffin tins from the oven and once again flip the pancakes and place back in the oven for the final 5 minutes.  Serve with sour cream on the side.

Makes about 20 pancakes