The Princess is currently in the midst of a major assignment on French culture for school. One of the questions requires her select and report on a regional French food. After running through the obvious choices (baguette, croissant, creme brulee etc) and discarding them all because they were, well, obvious she settled on an in depth analysis of aligot. Aligot is a gooey, fondue-like dish made with almost equal quantities of potato and cheese, and a little garlic and butter for flavour. Just in case the large quantities of cheese weren’t enough, most recipes also advise thinning the mash out with cream or creme fraiche if it is still too thick. Really though, aligot is just glorified cheesy mash.
Being the awesome mother I am, I promised The Princes I would make aligot for dinner one night so she could write about it with some authority. We all like cheese, and mash, and Mr Grumpy likes to take leftovers for his lunch, so I made a large batch. This proved to be a slight mistake. Aligot is rich. Really rich, and a little goes a long way so a large amount was left over. More than even Mr Grumpy could handle.
Not wanting to feed the leftover mash to the chickens (it was full of raclette – not a cheap cheese) I decided to repurpose it for another meal later in the week. On a whim I made little cakes, coated them in breadcrumbs and, as I already had the oven on, baked them. Genius (if I do say so myself). The cakes turned out perfectly, with a lovely crunchy exterior and a soft, cheesy interior. I didn’t make nearly enough though, because they disappeared very quickly and there were requests for more.
This surplus of leftover mash is not an isolated event in my house. I always far make too much. My previous attempts at leftover mash potato cakes have been less successful, as I tried to fry the cakes instead. As the butter and cheese in the mash soften with the heat, the potato cakes melt in the pan and stick to the base, making them almost impossible to serve neatly. The potato cakes hold up better when baked, and are easy to slide onto the plate.
These potato cakes would work quite well with other leftovers mixed into them; chopped up roast chicken, finely diced roasted broccoli or even wilted cabbage, making a colcannon patty. Whilst I cannot see myself making aligot again in a hurry, I will definitely be making extra mashed potato in future just so I can make these leftover mashed potato cakes.
Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes
This is more a method than a recipe. Just adapt it according to the volume of mash you have leftover. The cakes will be gluten free if you use gluten free breadcrumbs to coat.
It is easier to mould the potato into patties if the mash is cold.
Ingredients
- Cold leftover mashed potato
- Dry breadcrumbs
- Olive oil
- Salt & Pepper
- Finely chopped parsley
- Egg
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 200C (180C fan forced).
- Line a baking tray and set aside.
- Place the breadcrumbs on a large plate. Add the chopped parsley, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to mix everything together and incorporate the olive oil into the breadcrumbs.
- Whisk the egg in a shallow dish (I usually do this with a fork) to amalgamate the egg and white.
- Shape the mashed potato into small cakes, approximately 6cm in size.
- Dip the potato cakes into the egg, allow any excess to drip off, then coat the potato cakes evenly with the breadcrumbs.
- Place on the lined tray.
- Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until the cakes are brown and warmed through.
- Serve with anything you fancy.
Delicious! Leftover mashed potato is the best! I always add salmon to mine : )
Oh I like the idea of salmon Liz. I didn’t think of that. Thanks.
oh, I bet these are good!!!
They were very good Mimi. I cooked my first lot a little too long and even though they exploded, they still held together and had lots of crispy brown edges.
When I first met my husband he told me the only things he could cook were potato cakes and Thai prawns. I’m still waiting…..!! These look good I might have to show him:)
Thanks Nancy. Hopefully he gets re-inspired to cook for you 🙂
Wow. . .aligot sounds like quite the waistline buster. . .the type of dish you would eat on a special occasion. Of course the Princess’ report was such an occasion. I hope she realizes what a great mom she has.
I love how you made the leftovers into these divine, little cakes. I hope they brought a smile to even Mr. Grumpy’s face. 🙂
I’ll admit I’ve not made aligot again Lynn 🙂 It was so very rich. I live in hope that The Princess will one day realise I’m not all bad, but I’m thinking that day is still a while off 😉 And yes, Mr Grumpy did smile over these.
I made wonderful potato skins filled with Skinnymixer’s Mexican Shredded Chicken the other day (I am a proud owner of a Thermomix). In making the potato skins, I removed a lot of mashed potato. I knew that I could do something yummy with it, and tonight I decided to try your recipe – absolutely delicious!
I’m so glad you liked them Sarah. Thank you for letting me know. And now I am off to search for the potato skins recipe. Sounds fantastic!!
I have made these a few times, and there are delicious. I put the chopped parsley in the potatoes. Making them tonight with steak.
I’m so glad you like them Linda. Thank you so much for letting me know. Love the idea of putting chopped parsley in the potatoes. I’m trying that next time I make these.