Potato Cakes

holly_johnson

I was clearing up after dinner the other night and there was a good bit of mashed potato left over.
It got me thinking of when I was a kid and my mam used to make potato cakes the next day with the leftover mash.

Anyone else remember this? I tried to make them myself using the mash, an egg and some onion, but they turned out really dry. I was surprised because the mixture looked very wet before I started shallow frying them. Any ideas of a recipe?

Tree

i usually just mash the spuds w/ some extra milk and mash in cheese and ham and onion, dip inthe egg and fry for a bit till crispy, some days it works, somedays i get a mash pile on the pan

Shabadu

You have to but in a bit of flour to bind them. It's pretty crucial if you don't just want fried mash.

Holly- I have no idea why yours turned out dry. Was the mash buttery enough to begin with? Were they very floury spuds? I don't put egg in them or on them, just a dash of flour, maybe some scallions, and fry in a little butter and a tiny dash of oil. They're lovely if you ombine then w/ crabmeat or a little flaked fish too.

holly_johnson

I reckon the potatoes were quite floury. A bit of milk would probably have sorted them out, but i did feel they were quite wet when I started making them.

Maybe it's a case of practice makes perfect.

brianthebard

try using a tablespoon of olive oil or an ounce of butter, along with some salt and pepper and enough flour to bind it all into a dough.

The cakes may or may not come out dry, depending on how floury the potatoes are and whether you used much oil or butter to fry them in.

If you want them to be fluffier, add an egg yolk or two. You could also add chives, but I don't bother.

I've been meaning to make potato cakes for a housemate for a while now, cause he never liked his ma's mashed potatoes and I want to educate him!