fried mashed potatoes
put a large pot of water on to boil. scrub 6 small potatoes; I like the red ones. Quarter them and plop them into the water at a rolling boil. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until soft. Drain and return to the pot if your pot can stand the up-coming beating or dump into a heavy bowl.
add three tablespoons of butter to the potatoes. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt and pepper and herbs; pick about 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme if you have it, but this round I just used dried thyme and basil, about a teaspoon each. Drizzle with about a ¼ cup of heavy cream. Using one of the most fabulous inventions of all time—the hand potato masher—mash mash mash. Save a few lumps for texture, having left the skins on helps some bits hold together (plus – pretty!).
shred about ½ a cup of hard cheese like parmesan or gruyere would be nice; we had some schmany delectable cheese I cannot remember the name of now. Beat an egg or, to be really decadent, an egg plus one yolk. Stir in half the egg and most of the cheese, just saving some for decorative pre-table topping, into the potatoes with a wooden spoon. Set aside the egg in a shallow bowl and whisk in a little cream. In another shallow bowl, spread panko flakes or bread crumbs.
heat a cast iron skillet or your heaviest, if you are not blessed with cast iron, which should acquire as soon as possible. Add a bit of olive oil or butter or a nice half’n’half mix of the two.
form the potato mash into patties, dredge quickly in the egg/cream, press a few sage leaves into it – or one big dramatic one- then press the patty in the breading, flip and press the other side. Fry. A few minutes on each side, going for golden brown. Transfer to a toweled plate to rest and drain excess oil.
you can fry two or three potato patties at a time, just be sure not to crowd the skillet. Dredge out any escaped bits of breading before they burn and taint your oil. This does not have to be a deep fry job; using just enough oil for things not to stick creates plenty of golden fried goodness to satisfy.
these are freaking amazing. I cannot imagine what they would not be good with, but here are some ideas: oniony, garlicky sautéd greens like kale or collards; veggie sausage (which I like to pepper a lot and eat with maple syrup) and a fried egg; red lentils with plain yoghurt and hot pepper sauce; fried apples’n’onions…oh, yes- with sour cream. I love fall.
eve’s pockets
(because knowledge sustains)
for the pastry
Oh darlings, don’t be daunted by the idea of making pastry. It’s as easy as biscuits! If you haven’t made buttermilk biscuits yet, try it. Serve them with boxed soup. Good for breakfast with honey or maple syrup. But I am digressing into biscuits, and this is pastry pocket dough. The freezer is the tool of miracles for both.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
- 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
- 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- about ½ a cup of ice water (let some ice cubes melt into a bit of water as you begin cooking)
Right out of the refrigerator, cut the butter into cubes. Scatter the butter bits on a cookie sheet so they are not touching each other and stash them in the freezer for quarter of an hour.
Sift together the two types of flour with the salt and sugar. Feel free to sift twice. Sifting the dry ingredients adds air’n’fluff to baked treats and is especially important when you are vegan baking (obviously, these butter-filled pastries are far from vegan, but vegan muffin recipes are comin’).
Toss the frozen butter into the flour. Reach in with your hands and rub the bits of butter with the flour between your fingers. It’s sort of a press and slide motion, and I imagine making flat shingles of floured butter that overlap like scales on a fish to form the flakey layers in pastry. Most instructions I’ve read on pastry making say to cut the butter into the flour until it resembles course meal or other grainy sorts of descriptions, but it feels velvetier than that. Error on the side of less handling the first few times you try; over handling makes crusts and biscuits and the like tough.
Freeze the dough again, about another quarter of an hour.
With a wooden spoon, gently stir in enough ice water for the dough to hold together without getting sticky. Scant half a cup, but it will depend on the weather. Humidity and temperature affect the flour’s ability/need to absorb the liquid.
Flour your little paws and kneed the dough. Pat it together into a ball, press down, turn and press and turn and press, working it against the size of the bowl. Kneed long enough for it to come together, about 5 minutes if that. Then rip your dough ball in half, stick on half atop the other and press down. Do this a few times; you can visualize making the elongated layers that flake, flattening them on top of each other. Divide into two thick circles, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for about an hour.
This dough keeps well, and while it makes for “fancy” desserts, it is an awesome vehicle for a gazillion different leftovers. For example: black beans simmered with green pepper and onion with cheddar cheese cubes; white beans, spinach & ricotta; thick stews; thick chili.
for the filling
- one apple – tart for baking, not mealy; try heirloom varieties
(hint hint: Union Square green market is flush with apples right now) - ¼ cup dried sour cherries
- 2 tablespoons of chopped walnuts
- ¼ cup of sugar
- fresh ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon corn starch
- cup apple sauce
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon milk
pre-heat the oven to 400° and grease a baking sheet.
Peel your apple. Slice it in half, in quarters, then, on an angle, slice out the core with the seeds. Peel and mince about an inch of fresh ginger.
In a medium bowl, mix together apples, sour cherries, and walnuts with the ginger, nutmeg, corn starch, and sugar. I’ve been storing my sugar in this empty lemon, ginger, Echinacea juice jar, and evidently, I did not wash it very well because it’s lemon-ginger-Echinacea-y and delicious in this recipe. Stir in the apple sauce.
Roll out each circle of dough on a lightly floured surface. I don’t have a rolling pin; an empty juice bottle suffices. Roll it out thin – about an eighth of an inch. I roll into an elongated rectangle, following the shape of my cutting board. Trim the edges and slice into rectangles, about four for each circle of dough.
Divide the apple mixture among the cut-outs, leaving a 1-inch border. Fold over the pastries – into triangles if you cut your pastry into squares or into rectangles.
In a small bowl mix the beaten egg with a teaspoon of milk. Use a brush (or your finger or a spoon, but a clean kitchen-use only paint brush or pastry brush works best) to brush the egg mixture on the border of the pastry.
Fold each pastry, enclosing the filling, and crimp the edges with a fork. Brush the tops of the pastries with more of the egg wash. Make 2 or 3 small slashes in the top of the pastry to let the steam escape.
Bake for 20 minutes or until puffed and golden. Cool turnovers to warm before serving.
