Place a piece of cheesecloth in a large metal strainer over a bowl, and squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the onion. Discard liquid, and continue to squeeze out liquid until the onion is as dry as possible. Place drained onion in a large bowl. Add the grated squash, salt, corn starch, flour, and freshly cracked pepper, and mix well. Add the harissa and eggs, and stir to incorporate.

Preheat the oven to 300º. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and place a wire cooling rack on top of the baking sheet. You’ll use this to drain the latkes.

Shape latkes into 3-tablespoon-sized cakes. In a large frying pan, heat about ¼-inch oil over medium heat. When oil shimmers, drop latkes in, pressing down with your spatula. Let cook 4-5 minutes on each side, until they’re golden brown and crisp. Transfer latkes to the wire rack in the oven to drain while you continue to fry.

Once complete, make the tahini crème fraîche by mixing tahini, crème fraîche, and sea salt. Finish with an extra drizzle of tahini, if desired.

Serve latkes hot, with tahini crème fraîche and apple sauce, topped with a pinch of smoked paprika, if desired.