1 family. friendly food. » Leftovers: Mashed potatoes turned into Light-as-a-feather potato pancakes

Monday, October 27th, 2008

Leftovers: Mashed potatoes turned into Light-as-a-feather potato pancakes

I really don’t have anything to write about this recipe. Maybe except for – you can reheat leftover mashed potatoes in the microwave, or if you have an extra 20-30 minutes make these pancakes?

Light-as-a-feather potato pancakes

Makes about 10 pancakes

2 cups mashed potatoes
1 cup onion, small diced
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt, pepper
Extra virgin olive oil (evoo) and/or canola oil for frying*
1 cup sour cream for serving
Chives, chopped, for serving

Variations: play with adding paprika, cumin, fresh chopped herbs, corn, peas…

Heat oil/s in a 10-12-inch skillet over medium heat. (Oil/s should be about half the height of the pancakes, or about ½ cup oil.)
In a bowl, mix mashed potatoes, onion, garlic, flour, eggs, salt, and ground black pepper with a fork.
Fry about 2 tablespoons of batter at a time (that’s 3-4 pancakes for each batch). Flatten with the back of the spoon. Fry about 4-5 minutes, or until nicely browned. Using spatula, flip gently to other side and fry 4-5 minutes more.
Drain on a plate lined with (at least 3) paper towels.
Serve hot with sour cream and chives.

* Tips for pan-frying:

I use both canola and extra virgin olive oil when frying. Canola oil for the higher cooking temperature (Burnt oil is not a good thing) and evoo for the flavor and health.

Also, when frying, the food needs only to visit the oil, not move in together. You don’t want the food to stay too long in the oil because then it soaks too much oil and you end up with oily food (not a good thing either). If you see that the pancakes take forever to fry, turn the heat up a bit and see how it goes. Adjust heat as you go along.

Also, don’t overcrowd the pan with batter since it lowers the temperature too much which will end up with the pancakes taking forever to fry, and we have already covered up that point.

If you don’t want the pancakes to stick to the pan, make sure the oil is hot enough (by placing a little batter in the oil. It should sizzle), or use a Teflon coated skillet, or use stainless steel but don’t be tempted to turn them over before they are done/browned.

… and, enjoy.

Nurit

More leftovers…
Mashed Potatoes with Cheesy Crunchy Topping
Leftovers: Roasted Chicken
Leftover bread turned into Bread pudding with spiced rum sauce for dessert
Cake for the weekend: Black Forest Chocolate Roulade, and Leftovers: Egg whites

Tags : latkes, mashed potatoes, potluck, recipe, vegetables
Categories : Holiday recipes, Leftovers, Party Food/Potluck, Recipes, Side dishes and Vegetables