Easy Potato Pancake (With Sneaky Vegetables Inside)

My husband's mom is from Germany, so he is kind of picky about his potato pancakes.  He grew up eating the real deal, in which you have to grate potatoes.  This recipe is a short-cut version that uses shredded hash browns, and he loves it.  It also has some sneaky vegetables in it, so when my son eats it, he has no idea that he is getting in a serving of veggies ;)  You cannot even taste them!

This is from The Pampered Chef Celebrate cookbook.

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
*1 medium carrot, grated
*3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
*2 Tablespoons yellow onion, very finely chopped
*1 teaspoon margarine
*1 pkg. (20 oz.) frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
*3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*dash of black pepper
*4 Tablespoons canola oil, divided
*applesauce--optional

Directions:
Saute onion in margarine just until tender. 

In a large bowl, combine potatoes, carrot, parsley, and onion.

In a small bowl combine flour, salt, and black pepper.  Sprinkle over potato mixture.  Stir lightly.

In a large skillet, heat 2 Tablespoons of the oil over medium heat until hot.  Add potato mixture and spread out evenly in the skillet.  Press down with a spatula to get it all even.  Cook 10-12 minutes or until underside of potato pancake is dark golden brown and crisp.

Carefully slide potato pancake onto a dinner plate.  Place a second dinner plate upside down over the pancake.  Firmly holding plates together, turn the plates over so that the browned side of the pancake is now on top.

Add the remaining 2 Tablespoons of oil to the skillet.  Let it get hot.  Return the potato pancake to the skillet with the golden brown side facing up.  Press down firmly with a spatula.  Cook for 10-12 more minutes or until the bottom side is dark golden brown and crisp.

Slide onto a plate.  Cut into triangles with a pizza cutter.  Serve with applesauce for dipping on the side, if desired.