These Breakfast Potato Patties require a bit of effort, but using pre-baked potato and a subtle blend seasonings makes for a great result.
I occasionally make ‘Latke‘ style potato pancakes for breakfasts or brunches. They are very nice but they are also a bit of a pain to make. After grating the raw potatoes, they need to be vigorously squeezed to remove excess water, care has to be taken to form them so they aren’t straggly nests of loose shreds, and they can’t be too thick or the middles end up being partially raw, with the hanging shreds turning almost black. For this interpretation of the basic potato pancake, pre-baked potatoes are used, and the mix is lightly seasoned for a terrific result.
The Basic Method
Pre-cook the potatoes by baking, but be careful not to overdo it. I did these little ones at 325 degrees just to the point that a toothpick penetrated to the center with just a little resistance. The time will depend on the size of the potatoes, but these took about 30 minutes. Basically, you want to cook them to the point that, if you were going to serve them as baked potatoes, you would still need to cook them a little longer to make them completely tender.
After baking the potatoes, slice, and then dice them to small cubes about 4 or 5 millimeters in greatest dimension. Whether or not you peel them is up to you but, if the peel is relatively thin and light-colored, you may wish to leave it on. In this case, I simply cut away the odd blemish and darker areas and left the remainder of the peel in place.
Once done, add in the minced onion, parsley and seasonings and about a tablespoon or so of flour, stirring gently to coat the solid ingredients. If you haven’t overcooked the potatoes you should have no problems, otherwise, be very careful so as not to break the dice up into a mush.
Now add the beaten eggs, stirring once again, and then stir in additional Flour, a tablespoon at a time until a cohesive mass is formed. The amount of flour will depend on the amount of egg but only 4 or 5 additional tablespoons should be necessary.
For cooking, you could simply spoon globs of the mix into your cooking fat and press down to form patties but, in order to make nice shapes I am employing a trick I sometimes use when doing Latke style potatoes. Basically, I use a tin can with the bottom cut out as a mold and form the patties on a sheet of cling wrap. Afterwards, I pop them into the freezer for about twenty minutes to firm up so that they can be easily handled for frying.
The actual frying of the Breakfast Potato Patties is straightforward… you simply need to sauté on both sides in oil (or bacon drippings) until lightly golden. If you have frozen them fairly hard, however, it is a good idea to keep the heat moderately low. When they are done, blot on paper towel and serve while still nice and hot.
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Breakfast Potato Patties
Ingredients
- 3 – 4 small Potatoes;
- ½ cup minced Onion;
- 2 tsp. Garlic Salt;
- 1 tsp. ground Black Pepper;
- 2 small Eggs beaten;
- 4 – 6 tablespoons Flour;
- ¼ cup chopped fresh Parsley;
- 1 tsp. Celery Seed.
Instructions
- Bake the potatoes in a 325-degree oven until just barely tender.
- If desired, peel the potatoes, then chop into half millimeter dice.
- Stir the minced onion, parsley and seasonings into the potatoes along with about 2 Tablespoons of flour.
- Beat the eggs and stir them into the potatoes, adding flour, a little at a time, until a cohesive mass is formed.
- Spoon portions of the potato mix into a round metal form on top of sheet lined with cling wrap, repeating until all the mix is used up.
- Freeze the patties on the sheet for about twenty minutes until they become firm and easy to handle.
- When ready to cook, pan-fry in oil, or bacon fat, until the patties are cooked all the way through and nicely golden.
- Serve hot.
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