French Fried Potato Puffs Recipes

FRIED POTATO AND GARLIC PUFFS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 225°F. Peel the potatoes, cut them in half lengthwise, and cut each half in 3. Boil the potatoes in well-salted water until they're completely tender but not falling apart, about 20 minutes. To check doneness, take a piece out of the pot and cut it at the thickest part. It should sort of break apart and look dry inside. Taste it to be sure, then drain the potatoes well, spread them on a baking sheet, and put them in the oven for 15 minutes to dry completely.
• Pass them through a sieve or food mill into a medium bowl and set them aside. If you'll be cooking the puffs as soon as the dough is ready, leave the oven on so that you can keep batches warm as you fry.
• Meanwhile, make the pâte à choux: In a medium saucepan, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil with the butter and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add the flour all at once, turn off the heat, and stir with a wooden spoon until completely incorporated. Return the pan to very low heat and stir for a few minutes until the dough forms a ball and a cooked film begins to develop in the saucepan. Let the dough cool for a couple of minutes, and stir in one of the eggs. The dough will fly apart into seemingly irreconcilable blobs, but do not lose heart; keep stirring, and it will become one again, I promise.
• Beat the other egg in a small bowl and begin to stir it in-you may not want to add all of it in the interest of dryness. Stop adding egg when the dough becomes elastic, smooth, and shiny, and then stir in the potato and garlic paste and mix thoroughly. The dough will be very sticky.
• In a heavy saucepan or skillet, heat 2 to 3 inches of frying oil to 325°F, or until it is shimmery, not smoking, and a tiny dollop of the dough dropped in sizzles energetically, but does not scare you out of the kitchen. Carefully drop a walnut-size piece of dough into the oil to fry for a taster. Taste and adjust for salt and . . . more garlic? . . . cooked longer? There are two ways to proceed with frying: (1) load the dough into a pastry bag, squeeze out short lengths, and cut them off and into the oil with a knife or scissors, or (2) use two spoons to form and scrape dollops into the oil. Fry the puffs until they're golden brown, prodding them with a spider to roll them over and fry the other side as needed.
• Dip them out to drain on a rack or crumpled paper and keep them warm in the oven (without the paper, if that's what you're using) as you fry the rest.
• Notes
• Instead of serving the potato puffs alongside fish, meat, chicken, or beans, make them for a pre-dinner aperitivo that you stand around eating in the kitchen while you fry the next batch.
• In spring, if green garlic stalks are available, thinly slice, rinse, and cook one in butter and a very little bit of salted water. When it's tender, drain and add it to the mix in place of the pounded garlic.
• Add chopped chives, parsley, or thyme, or Parmesan or other gratable aged cheese to the dough.
• Potato-puff- frying oil can be strained and saved, refrigerated, to reuse for up to a week.

MOM'S POTATO PUFFS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix in the mashed potatoes and egg until well blended.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or heavy deep skillet to 365 degrees F (180 degrees C). Carefully drop the potato mixture by spoonfuls into the hot oil, and fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from oil to drain on paper towels.

POMMES DE TERRES SOUFFLEES (PUFFED POTATOES)

Steps:

• Wash and peel potatoes.
• Cut into fries 1 1/4 inches wide by 1/8 inch thick.
• Soak potatoes in ice water, then drain and pat dry.
• Heat deep fryer oil to 275°F Put only enough potates in fryer to cover the bottom of basket.
• Fry potatoes until they begin to brown and puff, moving them around with a fryer tool as they fry.
• Drain potatoes.
• Potatoes may be held at this point for frying later, or immediastely cooked.
• Heat deep fryer oil to 400°F.
• Put only enough potatoes in fryer to cover bottom of basket.
• Finish frying, moving them through the oil as they cook, until they become golden and crispy.Remove from oil, drain on absorbent brown paper and season immediately with salt to taste.

POTATO PUFFS

Steps:

• Put the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with cold water; season with salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook until fork-tender, about 20 minutes; drain. Pass the potatoes through a ricer into a large bowl or mash with a potato masher until smooth.
• Combine the milk, butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until incorporated. Return the saucepan to the stove and cook over low heat, stirring, until the mixture comes together and pulls away from the side of the pan, about 1 minute. Continue stirring until the mixture is slightly shiny, about 4 more minutes.
• Transfer the mixture to a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed, about 1 minute. Add half of the mashed potatoes and the whole egg and beat until incorporated. Add the remaining potatoes and the egg yolks and beat until creamy and smooth, about 1 more minute. Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip. Set a large piece of parchment paper on a cutting board. Pipe about 24 mounds (1 to 1 1/2 inches each) of the potato mixture on the parchment. Cut the parchment between the mounds with a paring knife so each puff sits on its own piece of paper.
• Heat 2 inches of peanut oil in a large pot until a deep-fry thermometer registers 325 degrees F. Working in batches, carefully invert each puff into the oil, leaving it on the parchment. The parchment will fall off as the puffs cook; remove with tongs. Fry until golden, turning as needed, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; season with salt.

FRENCH FRIED POTATO PUFFS

Steps:

• 1. Prepare potatoes according to package directions. Add pancake mix, onion soup mix, and parsley.
• 2. Drop from tablespoon, a few at a time, into deep, hot fat (365F degrees).
• 3. Fry until golden brown, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, turning occasionally to brown all sides. Drain on absorbent paper toweling.