Potato Week: Tater Tots

Long time readers, you didn't really think we were going to get through potato week without letting Jack deep-fry something, did you?

I sent him this recipe (from Macheesmo), which suggests breading leftover-mashed-potato tots with crushed potato chips and got this response:

I like that the preferred outer coating is previously deep-fried potatoes. That's what I'm talking about.

Okay.

The leftover mashed potatoes (with additional parsnips and celeriac, in our case) are combined with some flour and egg, breaded (either with breadcrumbs -- which we actually used -- or potato chips -- the idea of which still inspire a sort of wistful longing in my boyfriend's eyes), shaped, and deep fried.

(We found the deep-frying pretty greasy, so we also tried finishing a batch under the broiler. Almost equally tasty, but much less satisfyingly golden brown.)

The advantage of using mashed potatoes (rather than the more usual grated potatoes) is a creamy, almost-melted center contrasting with the crispy golden outside. The parsnips and celeriac add a lighter vegetable-y note; if you'd like to take it the other direction, we're pretty sure some cheese inside would be good, too.

We served these with homemade veggie burgers, topped with sauteed mushrooms and onions, on fresh bread, next to a CSA-provided salad (lettuce, carrots, and golden beets).