Fried Potato Cakes with Spinach and Cheese

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There is no right or wrong way to eat potatoes, all forms are GLORIOUS. But today, I thought we’ll cover a Fried potato cakes version which is loaded with some oozing melting cheese and a good measure of spinach in there. These melt in your mouth goddesses are made with a mixture of mashed potatoes, cheese, spinach and seasonings, covered with a bread crumb coating. That crispy golden crunch on the outside, and a messy lil silky potato on the inside…is ladies and gentleman why I became a food blogger.

HOW TO AVAIL THESE BABIES:

1. Have it at your tea time trolley with some ketchup or mayo and see them magically disappear.
2. Make these as a side dish for a dinner party
3. Chuck it in a sandwich with some lettuce and Mayo and make it a proper meal.
4. Pair it with a good Chicken Biryani and make food memories.
5. Make these for #Meatlessmondays and pair it with cashew crunch salad to make your dinner last longer in that tummy.
6. Just randomly because you want to have some and you don’t need a dinner party to have some frikkin yummmm carbs!

STEPS TO MAKE THE FRIED POTATO CAKES

So the potatoes need to be boiled for about 20 mins or until they are nice and soft. Stick a knife inside the potato to see if they are cooked through and through. Allow the potatoes to cool down and peal off the skin.

I like to add two cuts on each potato lengthwise and along the width. This makes pealing off the skin super easy.

After peeling, proceed to mashing those potatoes with a potato masher. Direct all that negative energy, built up anger and general frustration on these 4 round things. You’ll end up with a pretty cool mashed up mess and an equally light feeling.

Now that the potato mash is ready, start dumping in all the spices, cheeses , onions and spinach in the mix. The spinach I’ve used is pre-cooked, it’s blanched with all of it water drained. You can use fresh spinach but there will always be a chance of making your potato cakes fall apart when they are frying. So on the saver side, pre-cook that spinach.

And mixxx! Get your hands in there and mix the whole thing up to get these beautiful colors and textures all jumbled up together.

PRO-TIP: If you live in a city which is hot and humid, I’d suggest to shred the cheese and put it back in the freezer. Mix all the other ingredients with your mashed potatoes first, and then at the end bring the frozen shredded cheese and mix.

When you have your mixture ready, we are going to go ahead and make small thin disc shaped patties. These little patties or cakes have reached the final stage. Finish up with the 3 step crumb coat: flour, egg and bread crumbs

I always add 1/2 cup of water to my egg wash because it makes the layer that much crispy and crunchier. Try it!

Above is a little shot of the potato cakes getting coated in flour and then egg and bread crumbs.

Then all that’s left to do, is fry theseeeee! Shallow fry them in oil at medium flame and let them turn nice crispy golden brown on both the sides.

Viola! Serve them warm and Enjoy your potato cakes with ketchup, or garlic mayo or just as is!

SUBSTITUTIONS, REMIXES AND FIXES

The cheesy aspect

I’ve used both mozzarella and cheddar cheese for flavor. If you don’t have both cheese at hand, you can use one of the cheeses instead. Although cheddar really does add a nice flavor to it. If you are going dairy free, then skip the cheese completely and reduce all the seasoning by 1/4 tsp.

Different shapes.

You can make these into cigars as well or maybe a little bigger too. But I wouldn’t suggest to make balls out of this mixture, because the cheese and spinach will make the balls crack and possibly break. Other than that, any flat shape you want to make will work well.

Spinach and friends

If you don’t have any spinach at hand, don’t worry! Use some other greens that you like. Kale, or in fact even carrots would go beautifully with the other flavors in the recipe.

Freezing and storing

You can make a batch of these potato cakes in advance for an event or a dinner. But unfortunately, anything made out of boiled potatoes doesn’t last very long in the freezer and starts getting watery. So even if you freeze these, try to consume them with 2 to 3 weeks.

Fixes

Always do a test fry before making all the cakes. At this point you can adjust the salt and seasonings. If your potato cakes seem to watery or are breaking apart on frying, add 1 tbsp of corn flour to the mixture and that will take care of that.

Not Frying

If you don’t want to fry the potato cakes, you can always bake them. Line a baking tray with a baking sheet and spray it with a cooking spray. Preheat the over at 180 degree Celsius. Coat the potato cakes with a layer of oil and bake for 8 mins. Flip the potato cakes with a spatula and bake for another 10 mins or until golden brown.

Fried Potato Cakes with Spinach and Cheese

Spinach and Cheese Potato cakes

Yield: 26 mini potato cakes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Mashed potatoes mixed with spinach and shredded cheese, seasoned with spices, coated with bread crumbs and fried.

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Ingredients

• 4 medium potatoes
• 2 medium onions chopped
• 1 cup chopped spinach (after being cooked or blanched)
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tsp white pepper powder
• 1 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 tbsp vinegar.
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Oil for frying
• 1 cup All purpose flour for coating
• 1 egg for egg wash
• 1 to 2 cups panko bread crumbs

Instructions

1. In a large pot, add potatoes and water enough to submerge the potatoes. Boil them for 20 to 30 mins or until they are tender (insert a knife to check)

2. Allow potatoes to cool down, remove the skin and mash the potatoes with a fork or a masher

3. Add all the seasonings, vinegar, cheese and spinach. Mix everything together.

4. Make small flat round cakes of the potato mixture.

5. In a bowl, break the egg and add 1/2 cup of cold water, beat the egg and set aside.

6. Coat the cakes in all purpose flour, then the beaten egg and then do a bread crumb coat.

7. Shallow fry the potato cakes at medium to high flame until they turn golden brown.

8. Serve with ketchup, or any other dip that you like.

Notes

• You can make the potato cakes in advance and freeze, but consume within 2 weeks.
• Make sure you remove all the water content from the cooked or blanced spinach before adding it to the mash potatoes.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 26 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 114 Total Fat: 3g Saturated Fat: 1g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 2g Cholesterol: 20mg Sodium: 205mg Carbohydrates: 17g Net Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 1g Sugar Alcohols: 0g Protein: 5g