These light blinis (or potato cakes in this case), are so easy, so tasty and so much fun to make!
While I sometime boil some potatoes specifically to make potato cakes, they are ideal made with left-over mashed potato (even any spare roast potatoes!). I have occasionally made them with sweet potato, which also works well.
The potato cakes can be made larger for a starter: I highly recommend them being topped with crispy bacon and a poached egg! They are also wonderful made smaller as bite-sized treats or canapés: just warm them up a little and top with whatever you fancy.
Some of my favourite toppings include:
- goat’s cheese mixed with cooked beetroot chunks, garlic and lemon juice
- scrambled egg with a sprinkling of black pepper and chives
- spiced aubergine purée (or baba ghanoush)
- smashed avocado with chilli and lime
- crème fraîche, smoked salmon and a generous spritz of lemon juice
- fresh crab with a spritz of lime, perhaps also with a little cured or smoked salmon
- garlicky mushrooms
- small cubes of melon with slithers of Parma Ham
However these potato cakes are topped, they are utterly delicious bites of pure joy.
The potato cakes can be made a day or two ahead and warmed up in an oven set to about 180C for 5 minutes or so. They also freeze very well indeed once cooked: just defrost and warm in the oven before topping and serving.
Recipe: mustard and dill potato blinis – makes about 14 mini ones
Potato cake mixture:
- about 200g mashed potato
- 1 large egg, separated
- 1 rounded teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
- about a tablespoon finely chopped onion, optional
- 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
- a couple of grindings of black pepper
- a pinch of salt
To pan-fry:
- 2-3 tablespoons vegetable or sunflower oil
(1) Put the mash into a medium bowl and add the remaining potato cake ingredients apart from the egg white and mix well.
(3) Whisk the egg white until firm peaks form and fold into the potato mixture to give a mousse-like batter.
(4) Put the oil in a pan and place over a medium heat. Add small dollops of the batter a little apart in the pan: use a teaspoon or so for mini potato cakes, a tablespoon or so for larger ones.
(5) Leave them to cook gently in the oil for about 3 minutes before turning over and continuing to cook for a further couple of minutes. Top them however you wish (see above recipe) and serve either warm or cold.
Phil's Home Kitchen 