Boxty!

It's that time of year again, here's a recipe from Chow.com by Christine Gallary:

Boxty is a traditional Irish potato pancake that contains a mixture of mashed and grated potatoes, resulting in a unique texture that’s part pancake, part hash brown. While suitable on an Irish breakfast or supper table, boxty pairs well with so many cuisines. For example, try topping it with smoked salmon and crème fraîche for a fun twist on blini. Game plan: If you only have salted butter in your fridge, it’s fine to substitute it for the unsalted butter called for here.

INGREDIENTS: 2 pounds (3 to 4 large) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, 3/4 cup whole milk, 1 1/4 teaspoons fine salt, plus more for seasoning the potatoes before cooking, 1 large egg, 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the oven to 200°F. Chop half of the potatoes into large dice, place in a medium saucepan, salt generously, and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low, and simmer the potatoes uncovered until fork tender, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, grate the remaining potatoes on the large holes of a box grater. Toss with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and place in a fine mesh strainer set over a medium bowl; set aside.

When the boiled potatoes are ready, drain them, return them to the pot, add 1/4 cup of the milk, and mash until the potatoes are smooth.

With a plastic spatula, press the grated potatoes against the sides and bottom of the strainer to remove any liquid. Add the grated potatoes to the mashed potatoes (no need to stir though).

Place the egg, remaining 1/2 cup milk, flour, pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and whisk until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add the potatoes and stir until evenly incorporated.

Heat a large nonstick frying pan or griddle over medium heat. Test to see if the pan is hot enough by sprinkling a couple of drops of cold water in it: If the water bounces and sputters, the pan is ready to use; if it evaporates instantly, the pan is too hot.

Once the pan is ready, add enough butter to lightly coat the bottom when melted. Drop 3 dollops (about 1/4 cup each) of the batter into the pan and spread each to about 1/4 inch thick. Cook until the pancake bottoms are golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes more. Place on a baking sheet and set in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter. Serve warm.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #39

Well, St. Patrick's Day weekend is over, and hopefully you got into Burger King to get your free French fries (if you even like their new fries, that is).

While the fries might not be free any more, I bet you can still find some of that green Heinz ketchup to dip them in if you look for it.

And as long as we're playing clean up from the big Irish weekend, here's something from comic book writer Gail Simone's Twitter: "Boxty on the griddle, boxty in the pan. If you don't cook boxty, you'll never get a man." Well, then.

Hope y'all had a good St. Paddy's Day!

Boxty for St. Patrick's Day

Here's another Boxty recipe, this one is from the Just-Potatoes group, by way of the Dorie's Recipe Box group:

Boxty from Ireland

1/2 pound potatoes, unpeeled
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 pound potatoes, peeled and grated
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons butter, or as needed

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Scrub the unpeeled potatoes and prick them several times with a fork; place onto a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Remove, cool, and peel. Mash the potatoes with the buttermilk. Stir in the grated raw potato, flour, baking soda, salt, and pepper. Melt the butter in a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. Scoop the potato mixture into the skillet to make 3 inch cakes. Fry until golden and crisp, turning once, about 5 minutes per side.

Guy Fieri's Boxty Cakes

For the Food Network Friday before St. Patrick's Day I have something special for you - Guy Fieri's recipe for Irish Boxty.

For the uninitiated, boxty is a traditional Irish potato pancake. The name comes from the old Irish and means poor house bread. Here's Guy Fieri's recipe for it, from the "A Fiery Irish Supper" episode of "Guy's Big Bite"...

Total time 40 min
Prep 20 min
Cook 20 min
Yield: 4 cakes
Level: Easy

Ingredients
• 1 cup peeled, grated raw russet potato
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 (3/4-pound) russet potato, peeled and quartered
• 2 cups fresh cauliflower florets

• 3 cups chicken stock, or more as needed
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup canola oil, divided
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives
•
Directions
Cover the raw potato with the milk. Add in 1/4 cup chicken stock. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, add the quartered potatoes, cauliflower and enough chicken stock to cover. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, cook until fork tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Strain the potatoes and cauliflower. In a medium bowl, mash the potatoes and cauliflower with the cream cheese.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, spices and baking powder and mix well. Add the mashed cauliflower and potatoes and fold to combine. Add the egg into the raw potato mix, and then fold into the cauliflower and mashed potatoes. If the mixture is too thick, add a little more chicken stock.

Heat a nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons canola oil. When hot, add 1 cup of the mixture and gently spread out in the pan uniformly until you have a large circle (8 to 9-inches in diameter). Cook until the edges begin to brown lightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Gently flip over with a thin, flexible spatula and cook 2 minutes on the other side. Remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining batter.

Fill half with some Double Jack Stew and fold over. Serve with sour cream and a sprinkle of chives.