Potato Pancakes

Potato Pancakes, a Midwest staple for left over mashed potatoes. Jazz it up with cheese and red onions or jazz it down…either way it is delish!

My Mother had a tremendous sweet tooth….and she was under 5 feet tall and weighed only 90 pounds!  She liked to put maple syrup on her potato pancakes…she took the word pancake seriously!  🙂

Don’t know why I didn’t get her genes….I couldn’t fit in her jeans either!  😉 

Enjoy!

Me

Potato Pancakes

2014-03-07 14:34:43

Serves 6

Left over mashed potatoes? Not anymore, make potato pancakes.

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Total Time

30 min

Total Time

30 min

Ingredients

1. 3 cups chilled leftover mashed potatoes
2. 2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
3. 2 Tablespoons finely chopped red onions
4. 1 egg, lightly beaten
5. 1/2 cup flour
6. 1-3 tablespoons olive oil (or more if needed)
7. Sour cream and chopped green onions (scallions) for garnish if desired.

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the mashed potatoes, cheese, red onions, egg and 3-4 tablespoons of flour until well mixed. (If your mashed potatoes consisted of a lot of butter and/or milk, you might need more flour to hold the pancakes together. Mixture should be stiff but workable, not runny and loose.)
2. Lay out waxed paper or a cookie sheet on your counter
3. Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop the potato mixture into approximately 12 portions.
4. Dust your hands with flour (to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands) and gently shape each scoop into a round ball
5. Flatten each ball into a small round pancake about 1/2 inch thick and about 3-4 inches in diameter
6. Dredge each pancake into small amount of flour in a shallow bowl or pan.
7. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy skillet (I use cast iron) over medium heat. (Add enough oil to thoroughly coat the bottom of the pan.)
8. Fry the pancakes, in batches, until they're golden brown and crispy on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes. Add more oil as needed between batches of pancakes.
9. Do not turn the pancake until a crisp crust has formed or you will have mashed potatoes again.
10. Transfer the pancakes to a paper towel-lined plate, season and place in the oven to keep warm.
11. Serve the potato pancakes as is...or top with sour cream and chopped scallions.

Notes

1. This was the way my Mother served left over mashed potatoes....and my grandmothers before her. Nothing went to waste at our house.

Me and My Captain https://meandmycaptain.com/