Some of my favorite foods are roasted root vegetables. When beets, carrots, sweet potatoes and parsnips begin to brown and caramelize in the oven, their natural sweetness comes out. I think I could eat them every day.

In my weekly quest to cut my juicing costs, I started thinking about those root vegetables I love so much. Root veggies are generally inexpensive year-round; and their bright orange and purple colors mean they’re packed with vitamins A and C, as well as antioxidants. So root vegetables are both cheap AND good for you. Let’s juice them—but let’s not stop there. I want to use the pulp, too.

Latkes are traditionally a potato pancake, but there are myriad variations. I tried some at Sacred Chow, a small vegan café here in New York City. The chef made root vegetable latkes in a waffle iron. I’m thinking I can do something similar.

First, the juice (recipe below)

With so much natural sugar in root vegetables, I found I didn’t need to add any fruit for sweetness, just a lemon to add a little tartness and brightness. Peel the beets if you want to avoid the earthy flavor they tend to impart, but everything else can go straight into the juicer unpeeled, making this a very speedy juice to make. Total cost for one serving? About $1.50 (US).

Now for the pulp

I had about 2 1/2 cups of veggie pulp in my juicer’s bin. Depending on how dry your pulp is, you may need to add more or less egg (or flax egg) to make it stick together. These turn out a beautiful color and were delicious. They’d be nice as a side dish, or wrapped in a lettuce leaf or pita along with condiments. You could even turn them into veggie sliders. Feel free to play with the spices.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups root vegetable pulp
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced
• 2 organic eggs, or 2 flax eggs**
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
• Olive oil (optional)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. The mixture should be wet enough to form patties. Add extra egg (or flax egg) if it’s too dry to hold shape.
2. In batches, cook the patties in a nonstick skillet until lightly browned, about 6 minutes total. Use a little olive oil in the pan if you prefer a crisper patty.

**To make a flax egg, combine 1 tbsp flax meal and 3 tbsp water in a small bowl. Let stand about 5 minutes, until the mixture because slightly gelatinous, like an egg white.

Makes about 7 patties

Total time: 15 minutes