From Steampunk to Kitchen: Savory Potato Fritters

As you might have guessed from the name of this post, I’m a bit of a steampunk fan. Not a huge fan, but one of my all-time favorite books series is a urban fantasy/steampunk mishmosh of awesome. So when I was trying to come up with something for this week, I remembered that there is this food blog – Tentacle and Treacle – inspired by the series. Sadly Victorian food is not the most inspired cuisine, particularly for a vegetarian, but I saw the potato fritters post and it so naturally I had to try and make a version. I decided on attempting a savory version, rather than staying true to the recipe, as I wanted something more dinner-ish.

Savory Potato Fritters
1 large russet potato
1 medium spring onion (or a bunch of green onions)
1-2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 egg
salt and pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

Bake the large potato (or, if you have limited time, stick it in the microwave for a few minutes). Remove the skin and mash the potato in a large bowl – I find it easiest to just use a fork. Chop the onion (a spring onion is basically a massively oversized green onion), and add it to the potatoes. Add the all the other ingredients, saving the egg for last. If you are really motivated you can separate the egg, beat the egg white til soft peaks form, and fold it in but I’ve found it largely unnecessary. The batter should be fairly cohesive and not lumpy. Heat some oil in a large frying pan. Once the oil is hot, add plops of the batter and flatten them out a bit. Fry until both sides are golden brown, and remove onto a paper-towel-lined plate. Serve warm.

Tasty! A little on the bland side, as they can be slightly improved by adding cheese or ketchup on top. I am kicking myself a little because I was going to stick cheese in them and then I changed my mind – proof that initial impulses can in fact be good life decisions. But these are still extremely good, and weirdly tasted even better the next day. Not sure how that works. Song of the week: Highway to Hell, by AC/DC. I was listening this on my way to work the other day and it seemed eerily appropriate, like a musical Freudian slip… Also, it’s an awesome song and you should rock out to it regardless.