Potato cakes (but with celeriac) flour alternatives?

[LittleGreyCat]

Having substituted celeriac mash for mashed potatoes I am now looking for different ways to use it.

I like potato cakes but they use flour as a binding agent to stop the whole thing falling apart.
This takes away a lot of the l.ow carbohydrate gains.

Has anyone made potato cakes (or celeriac, swede or other potato substitute) cakes with an alternative to flour?

One reason that celeriac is so low carb (as far as I can see) is the high water content.
This makes it reluctant to stay together when fried.

 

[Dr Snoddy]

I do use a bit of chickpea (gram) flour. About half the carbs of wheat flour and fairly tacky.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Onion bhaji an option as well.

 

[ziggy_w]

Hi @LittleGreyCat,

I make something similar called potato pancake in German (picture below to make sure we are actually talking about comparable foods) using zuchini, a bit of carrot (instead of potatoes) and onion. As zucchini also contains a lot of water (such as celeriac), this might might work for you too. To bind the batter, I use eggs and psyllium husk (which usually takes the role of gluten in baking, so don't use too much) as a binding agent -- so virtually no extra carbs.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Hi @LittleGreyCat,

I make something similar called potato pancake in German (picture below to make sure we are actually talking about comparable foods) using zuchini, a bit of carrot (instead of potatoes) and onion. As zucchini also contains a lot of water (such as celeriac), this might might work for you too. To bind the batter, I use eggs and psyllium husk (which usually takes the role of gluten in baking, so don't use too much) as a binding agent -- so virtually no extra carbs.

Do you pre-cook the onions or just mix them in raw?
I was wondering if this was based on a recipe using grated raw potato instead of mash.
I've never tried psyllium husk so I foresee interesting times ahead.
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/31266/easy-potato-cakes.aspx
for a standard potato cake recipe.

I think I will try just adding an egg first, to see if that binds enough.

 

[ziggy_w]

y

Do you pre-cook the onions or just mix them in raw?
I was wondering if this was based on a recipe using grated raw potato instead of mash.
I've never tried psyllium husk so I foresee interesting times ahead.
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/31266/easy-potato-cakes.aspx
for a standard potato cake recipe.

I think I will try just adding an egg first, to see if that binds enough.

I use raw onions, raw shredded carrots and raw shredded zucchini -- which means that they will need to be fried a bit longer at lower temperatures to be fully cooked.

You could also try this with raw shredded celeriac.

In the end, low carb cooking means a lot of trial and error -- in my experience. Let us know how it turns out for you.

 

[Mr_Pot]

Before I was diagnosed, I used to make rösti potatoes. You have to shred the potatoes and squeeze them in a cloth. Lots of starch pours out, so I wonder if you could use that method to make lower carb potatoes for the cakes.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Before I was diagnosed, I used to make rösti potatoes. You have to shred the potatoes and squeeze them in a cloth. Lots of starch pours out, so I wonder if you could use that method to make lower carb potatoes for the cakes.

Interesting, but I am good with the celeriac.
Just looking at ways to bind it so it stays together.

It is fine just fried, but keeps falling apart in the frying pan.

 

[Scimama]

Hi
I use an egg and lots of cheese. I did try ground flaxseed which does bind but I found it can go a bit *****.
I also find making smaller size cakes helps.

 

[Resurgam]

I beat in a couple of eggs, that seems to fix most things like that so they can be cooked.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Mixed in a couple of eggs and a load of grated cheese.
This resulted in something not too far off a stiff batter.
Fried it in a frying pan and finished it off under a grill.
Another time I think that I would just bake it in an oven.

Still very flexible; posting this while it cools a bit.
This is something like a frittata which hopefully will be nice but was not really what I was aiming for.

Edit:
Well, that was interesting. Very eggy and fluffy and soft.
Took me a while to work out where I'd tasted it before.
It was like the filling from quiche (or egg and bacon pie if you can't be doing with foreign muck).
It does make me wonder if there is scope for a quiche without pastry, eaten hot or cold.
It was OK but needed a few more flavours to be truly great.

Just had a quick check and a quiche without pastry looks simple and very low carbohydrate!
Essentially eggs beaten with milk and cream.
Add tomatoes, fried bacon, etc. to the pastry case (or lack of) before pouring on the egg mix and baking in the oven.

I seem to have arrived at a point where that celeriac doesn't add anything to the traditional recipe.
However I think I will try that recipe to see how it goes without pastry.
This doesn't, of course, get me any further with potato cake recipes although it is interesting that the celeriac may add a lightness to what would otherwise be mainly baked egg.

 

[Em16]

Mixed in a couple of eggs and a load of grated cheese.
This resulted in something not too far off a stiff batter.
Fried it in a frying pan and finished it off under a grill.
Another time I think that I would just bake it in an oven.

Still very flexible; posting this while it cools a bit.
This is something like a frittata which hopefully will be nice but was not really what I was aiming for.

Edit:
Well, that was interesting. Very eggy and fluffy and soft.
Took me a while to work out where I'd tasted it before.
It was like the filling from quiche (or egg and bacon pie if you can't be doing with foreign muck).
It does make me wonder if there is scope for a quiche without pastry, eaten hot or cold.
It was OK but needed a few more flavours to be truly great.

Just had a quick check and a quiche without pastry looks simple and very low carbohydrate!
Essentially eggs beaten with milk and cream.
Add tomatoes, fried bacon, etc. to the pastry case (or lack of) before pouring on the egg mix and baking in the oven.

I seem to have arrived at a point where that celeriac doesn't add anything to the traditional recipe.
However I think I will try that recipe to see how it goes without pastry.
This doesn't, of course, get me any further with potato cake recipes although it is interesting that the celeriac may add a lightness to what would otherwise be mainly baked egg.

 

[Em16]

Celeriac chips are delicious too- chop as usual, add a bit of olive oil and bake till nicely browned!

Also, quick quiche....line tin with baking paper, add grated cheese, beaten eggs and anything else you fancy that's low carb (if bacon/lardons etc then cook up first so crispy). I like adding mushrooms, broccoli, green peppers, feta chunks. Good for picnics too.

 

[carty]

Celeriac chips are delicious too- chop as usual, add a bit of olive oil and bake till nicely browned!

Also, quick quiche....line tin with baking paper, add grated cheese, beaten eggs and anything else you fancy that's low carb (if bacon/lardons etc then cook up first so crispy). I like adding mushrooms, broccoli, green peppers, feta chunks. Good for picnics too.

I make a similar quick crustless quiche adding a few walnuts which give a bit of a crunch
Carol

 

[Ceppo]

I am inspired to try a celeriac chaffle. All sorts of veg can be added to a mix. Great success with cauliflower and I love coriander leaf and jalapeño chilli in a cheddar one. I imagine celeriac would like some Parmesan.

 

[enzina]

Hi @LittleGreyCat,

I make something similar called potato pancake in German (picture below to make sure we are actually talking about comparable foods) using zuchini, a bit of carrot (instead of potatoes) and onion. As zucchini also contains a lot of water (such as celeriac), this might might work for you too. To bind the batter, I use eggs and psyllium husk (which usually takes the role of gluten in baking, so don't use too much) as a binding agent -- so virtually no extra carbs.

OMG, i now know what's for dinner tonight! That looks absolutely delicious, i just don't really like the grating procedure. i have never used zucchinis (courgettes) instead of potatoes because luckily potatoes don't spike me that much but will try.