Dinner party at home, a family with kids and another friend and a lot of home-made food. That was our weekend evening. Yummy steak and lamb on the grill, grilled asparagus and fried onions, oven baked potatoes with and without cheese, two kinds of salad, peperonata and some potato medallions.
I had some leftover of mashed potatoes and didn’t want them at all. So I thought what can I make with these leftover mashed potatoes. I found some pancetta in the fridge I wanted to use for a pasta dish. And a lot of parsley.
I fried the pancetta in a pan until it was lightly crunchy, added the finely chopped parsley and made the mashed potato mix a little bit more dry with some tapioca flour. I made a lot of little balls and put them in hot oil, flatten them to make them as patties.
They came out super crunchy and very tasty. They were all gone within minutes and one of our friends said: “They are like cookies, you eat one, you want them all!” Yep, they were a good idea!
- 1/2 kg mashed potatoes
- 1/2 c bacon cubes/pancetta
- 1/4 c parsley (chopped)
- salt
- fresh ground pepper
- 1/4 c tapioca or potato starch
- olive oil for frying
- In a medium bowl add the mashed potatoes and the parsley. Stir with a wooden spoon.
- In a little pan fry the bacon cubes until they are golden and lightly crunchy.
- Add the bacon to the mashed potatoes, add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add slowly the starch of your choice and stir until you feel the potato mash is dry enough to form little balls.
- Form 25 balls and add them into a big pan with hot olive oil. Flatten each one when you put them in the pan. Let them get golden and crunchy before you turn them to the other side. Take them out and place them on a plate with kitchen paper towel.
- Serve them hot and enjoy!
You can use also coconut oil or ghee for frying. The taste will be a little different, though.
