These are fantastic!
Why is it that when we are served something made by a man that it taste so special? I don’t mean a male chef but someone in your family. My son Paul is a wonderful chef and I know anything he serves me will be wonderful and most likely something he grew in his garden or even eggs from his chickens. My son, Scott makes the best “24 hour no knead bread” and you would think it came from some artisinal bakery.
When we were in Austin a while back staying with my daughter and her husband after the birth of little Thomas I did a lot of cooking. But, one night Toby (new dad) had some left over garlic mashed potatoes that he had made over the weekend and he turned them into the most delicious potato pancakes. We sitting and watching the baby and he presented us each with a plate with one large potato pancake with a dollop of sour cream; crisp to perfection; and one night I was doing a Tortilla soup and he prepped the extra vegetables and I have to say they were a perfect 1/4″ dice. I could not have done better myself.
I remember my mother and grandmother both making potato pancakes but they never tasted like these pancakes. Maybe it was the roasted garlic or the green onions, or the cheese that make them so mouth watering good. He fried them just right; crisp on the outside, soft and smooth on the inside; and the best part of all was the dollop of sour cream on the side. There was just something about the hot crispy potato pancake with the cold sour cream that had me thinking when I was going to make them for someone.
Our friends Peggy and Gordon were getting ready to go to Hawaii to celebrate their 30th anniversary and we had them over for dinner one Sunday night. I served these just as my son-in-law did, on a small plate with a big dollop of sour cream on the side sprinkled with some freshly snipped chives. The rest of the meal was a grilled pork tenderloin steak which I will be posting soon and some baby bok choy and also a “raw” corn salad.
This recipe came from justataste.com blog. A note about frying them — I fried about 30 minutes in advance and put on cooling rack and put in oven. I should have fried after they arrived and served them right from the skillet. Mine got a little soft but were still delicious, just not as delicious as Toby’s.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: Caramel Nut Ice Cream Dessert has been a favorite of me and my sister for years. It was her cousin-in-law, Frankye Sue’s recipe and I always think of her when I make this dessert.
I roasted the garlic for the mashed potatoes. If you have left over mashed potatoes just add some sautéed or roasted garlic before proceeding with the recipe.
Add the egg, cheese, green onions and flour to your mashed potatoes. If you did not have roasted garlic potatoes, add some to your mixture before making into patties.
I used an ice cream scoop to make small balls. Then pat them out about 1/2″ thick.
Put the pancakes on a wax paper lined sheet.
Dredge each pancake in the flour.
Refrigerate until ready to fry.
Heat about 4-5 tablespoons of vegetable oil (I used about 1/2″ of oil in my iron skillet). Fry on both sides under golden brown. Drain on cooling rack.
Serve immediately. I put mine in a 300° oven but they softened and were not as crispy as they were when they were first fried.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of thinly sliced green onions.
Cheesy Potato Pancakes
Ingredients
- 3 cups chilled leftover mashed potatoes
- 2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 Tablespoons chopped scallions green and white parts
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 3 Tablespoons plus 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- Vegetable oil for pan-frying
- Sour cream for serving
- Thinly sliced green onions for garnish
Instructions
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In a large bowl, stir together the mashed potatoes, cheese, scallions, egg and 3 tablespoons flour until combined. (See Kelly's Notes.) Using your hands, divide the mixture into 12 portions. Roll each portion into a compact ball then flatten it into a pancake about a 1/2-inch-thick.
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Place the remaining 1/2 cup of flour in a shallow dish and carefully dredge each pancake in the flour.
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Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. (Add enough oil to thoroughly coat the bottom of the pan.)
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Fry the pancakes, in batches, until they're golden brown and crispy on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes. Add more oil to the pan as needed between batches. (Do not overcrowd the pan and do not flip the pancakes too soon or they won't develop a crisp crust.) Transfer the pancakes to a paper towel-lined plate and immediately sprinkle them with salt.
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Serve the potato pancakes topped with sour cream and garnished with additional chopped scallions.
Recipe Notes
Notes: All leftover mashed potatoes will vary in consistency depending on how much cream, milk or melted butter you added to the original batch. If the mashed potato pancake mixture looks too dry and isn't holding together, add one more egg. If it looks too wet, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is cohesive.
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