Grating raw potatoes for pancakes can be a bother, so how to get that same delectable earthy flavour complete with creamy insides and outside crunch without shredding your fingers in the process? Just ensure that you always make more mashed potatoes than needed. Consider leftover mashed potatoes as having a seat at your table. You are cooking for four? Make believe it is five or six.
When I lived and worked in New York City all those decades ago, a trusty cast-iron skillet had a place of honour on my stove. I loved it so much I use to sneak it into our backpack when we went camping. After yet another move, it got left behind. I have made do with stainless steel frypans with heavy aluminium bottoms. Recently The Calm One ambled into the kitchen with not only a replacement for the cast-iron Dutch Oven which had finally given up the ghost after twenty years of use, but also with a lovely iron skillet with two pouring spouts. The former is a fetching enamelled cherry-red with ivory insides, the latter, equally enamelled, is tomato-red. On to the pancakes! Ingredients (which are in bold) amount just to minced onion, egg, flour, salt, and cheese. I chose Cantal, not my usual entre-deux whose taste is similar to mild cheddar, but Cantal jeune whose flavour is closer to Muenster.
Did I forget an ingredient? Oh, yes, leftover mashed potatoes, of course! The better the mash, the better the pancake. This is how I made mine (choose a variety good for mashing, so no salad potatoes please!): boil peeled potato chunks till tender, strain them, add back to the pot, and dry them out a bit by shaking the pan over a low flame. Put them back in the strainer. While they are being riced, warm milk and butter (about a tablespoon of milk and a teaspoon of butter for each medium potato) in the same pot in which the potatoes were boiled. Add the riced potatoes, beat well with a wooden spoon. Salt to taste. Add more milk and butter if required. Wire-whisk till fluffy. When taking the leftover mashed potatoes out of the fridge, break them up with a wooden spoon to soften them.
For each cup of mash (American cup, 8 fluid oz= 16 tablespoons), make a well, and crack an egg into it.
Beat egg with a fork.
Stir in a tablespoon of minced onion and four heaping tablespoons of grated cheese. Parmesan, gruyere, cheddar, and comte would be nice choices. Add enough flour (I used around four heaping tablespoons) to get the consistency close to the original mashed potatoes, but it will be more moist. Add salt, around one half teaspoon. Cover the bottom of the skillet with oil and heat over medium high for around five minutes. Put heaping tablespoons of the mixture, leaving room between them so they can be smoothed out with the back of a metal spoon dipped in cold water (make sure not to get any water into the hot oil). Lower the flame a bit because iron retains heat well. Brown on one side, around three minutes, flip over, and brown for another three minutes. All the mixture needs to be used because it does not stand well. Drain on paper towels and serve with yogurt. Satisfying and warming on a cold night, they are a treat.
À la prochaine!
RELATED POSTS
Cantal Apple Clafoutis (different cantal affinages are explained)
Cantal Asparagus Tart
Fig Apple Walnut Cantal Dark Rye Hot Open-Faced Sandwich (recipe can be found halfway down the post)
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| Yogurt makes a good accompaniment, both taste and nutrient-wise |
When I lived and worked in New York City all those decades ago, a trusty cast-iron skillet had a place of honour on my stove. I loved it so much I use to sneak it into our backpack when we went camping. After yet another move, it got left behind. I have made do with stainless steel frypans with heavy aluminium bottoms. Recently The Calm One ambled into the kitchen with not only a replacement for the cast-iron Dutch Oven which had finally given up the ghost after twenty years of use, but also with a lovely iron skillet with two pouring spouts. The former is a fetching enamelled cherry-red with ivory insides, the latter, equally enamelled, is tomato-red. On to the pancakes! Ingredients (which are in bold) amount just to minced onion, egg, flour, salt, and cheese. I chose Cantal, not my usual entre-deux whose taste is similar to mild cheddar, but Cantal jeune whose flavour is closer to Muenster.
For each cup of mash (American cup, 8 fluid oz= 16 tablespoons), make a well, and crack an egg into it.
Beat egg with a fork.
À la prochaine!
RELATED POSTS
Cantal Apple Clafoutis (different cantal affinages are explained)
Cantal Asparagus Tart
Fig Apple Walnut Cantal Dark Rye Hot Open-Faced Sandwich (recipe can be found halfway down the post)
