Latkes in June

When are mashed potatoes not mashed potatoes?

When they become latkes!! (thank you, thank you...I'll be here all week. Tip your waitress.)

When I made Alex his man meal, I accidentally made way too many mashed potatoes. Like, enough to feed the entire clan of J&K+8. Not that I'd have them over for dinner or anything, but just to give you a picture of how much there was leftover. I knew there was a way to make leftover mashed 'taters into pancakes, but I couldn't find a good recipe online. As usual, I turned to my What's Cooking nesties and voila - the perfect mashed potato pancake recipe!

It's a little strange to make latkes in June, especially when it's about 95 degrees outside, but they were so delicious. Like an unexpected treat! It was fun to eat a food that I associated with cold weather during the summer. Something about the contrast between the flavor memories and the reality of when I'm eating it just makes me smile.

This recipe comes courtesy of Big City Cooking and it was incredibly easy. Mariel's boyfriend just came back from about 9 months in France, so we had them over for dinner last night. Nothing says "Welcome back to Baltimore!" like latkes!

Ingredients:

2 cups mashed potatoes

1 egg, beaten
6 tbsp all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper

Optional: cheese. I used a few handfuls of grated parmesan.
Vegetable oil, for frying

Instructions:

In a bowl combine the potatoes, egg, flour thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste. In a large skillet heat oil.

Fry a large tablesoon of potato mixture, flatten with the back of a spoon. (I found that a small silicone spatula worked well for this. The spoon stuck to the pancake and the first few were a total mess! I would touch the spatula to the oil in the pan first and it didn't stick to anything.)

Cook for one minute on each side until golden brown. Remove from heat and drain. Serve with sour cream or applesauce.