This crunchy potato latke recipe was created by Hank & Bean (follow them at @hankandbeanLA on Insta!) for a very special, stellar project. Chefs Henry Fischer and Anna Rose were asked to create a recipe for a Martian dinner – as in, life on the planet Mars! They had to imagine that they were living on a colony on planet Mars – five years after colonization. And with limited resources, they had to create a delicious and nutritious recipe.
This Martian latke recipe is not vegan because they used egg shells and cricket powder to provide the necessary protein and calcium that humans would need to eat on Mars! But it is INCREDIBLY inventive, zero-waste (so green!), futuristic and delicious.
Check out the video we created, where they explain their entire process. You will love Henry and Anna – brilliant chefs, who created this insanely delicious latke with the ingredients that we’d find in our colony on Mars!
MARTIAN LATKE
For the Mix-
- 16 oz shredded organic russet potato
- 1/3 c finely minced and pressed white onion
- 1/4 c minced fermented garlic chive
- 1 medium organic hen egg
- 4 tsp finely ground cricket powder (sifted)
- 1.5 tbsp fresh marjoram leaves
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 2 tsp ground egg white shell
- 1.5 tsp toasted and ground black pepper
Frying Oil –
- 4 oz organic, expeller pressed canola oil
- 2 oz organic, cold-pressed sunflower seed oil
Garnish –
- Garbanzo pea-so, to taste
- Fermented tomatoes
METHOD:
- Crack the egg into a bowl and hold.
- Rinse the eggshells in running water. Air dry on a towel, then roast the shell at 350 F for 8 minutes to kill off any bacteria. Cool the shell, then grid the shell with a mortar and pestle until it is a very fine powder, or alternatively grind in a coffee or spice grinder. The eggshell powder should be the consistency of superfine or even powdered sugar, otherwise, it will have a sandy, grainy quality.
- Peel the potato. Reserve the peels for other use, like toasted potato skins, or feed the peels to your crickets or compost for zero waste.
- Shred the potato into cold water and hold until ready to prevent oxidation.
- Peel the onion and reserve the onion skins for other use, like slow-roasted carbon onion powder, or feed the skins to your compost for zero waste.
- Mince the onion finely and press between two towels to remove excess moisture.
- When you’re ready to mix, drain the shredded potato and press between two towels to remove all excess moisture.
- Beat the egg, then fold in the potato, onion, minced chive, cricket powder, marjoram, salt, eggshell powder, and black pepper.
- Combine the two organic oils into a frying pan. *NOTE, on Mars, frying on a stovetop will not be possible due to 38% gravity. It would be done inside a vacuum combi-oven. So this is the proxy earth treatment!
- Bring the oil to a temperature of 365 F. If you don’t have a thermometer, the oil will start to shimmer when the temperature is achieved.
- If you have a stainless steel mold (3″ diameter), drop the batter inside the mold to fill and flatten down with the back of your spoon. This will give the latkes a uniform shape. If you don’t have a mold, you can still shape the latkes using the back of your spoon as the batter cooks in the oil.
- Cook till golden brown, basting the latkes with the hot oil. Flip and cook the second side to golden brown. Then remove from the pan and let cool on a baker’s rack or tray lined with a towel.
- Repeat this action until you have 4-6 latkes.
- Serve with your favorite condiments. We recommend Garbanzo Pea-So as a topping or dipping paste, and a side of lacto-fermented tomatoes.
