Fried potatoes – enthusiastic kitchen

Boil your potatoes: Place the potato chunks in a saucepan of cold, salted water and turn the heat up. Set your timer for 15 minutes. At the 15 minute mark, even if the water hasn’t boiled long, check a piece of potato. We want it to be tender enough for a knife or skewer to fit through, but not mushy; Add an additional minute or two if needed. Drain potatoes and place on a large cutting board. Let cool slightly in a single layer, about 5 minutes.

Shape the hash brown mixture: Cut the potatoes into small, pea-sized pieces. Toss with starch in a bowl and season to taste—I call for salt, but feel free to add pepper or other spices to your hash browns at this point.

Shape meatballs: Place back on the counter and knead on the cutting board a few times until you can shape it into a large, thick round. Divide it into 4 wedges for the generous patties you see here, or 6 for smaller ones. Use your hands to form each wedge into a round, and then flatten it about 1/2 inch thick and mold the shape you want against the board – either a round patty or you can slide it into more of a rounded rectangle, like i do here. Repeat with the remaining wedges.

Fry meatballs: Heat a medium, heavy skillet over high heat with enough oil to almost completely reach the sides of the patties. [In my photo, I’ve fully submerged them in oil, i.e. deep-frying them, but shallow-frying will work too.] When the oil reaches 350°F to 360°F or a potato crumb immediately sizzles in the pan and begins to darken, use a thin spatula to remove the first patty from the board by slowly lowering it into the oil. Fry until bottom is medium brown, 1 to 2 minutes, spooning oil over top of patty to even color. Flip carefully and cook until the other side of the patty is nicely browned, another 1 to 2 minutes. Lift out of the oil, shake excess drips back into the pan and place on paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with salt immediately.

Repeat with the remaining patties. If your pan is big enough, fry two at a time. [I use a smaller one so I need less oil.]

End: Eat immediately as is, or top with a fried egg or salad-style avocado toast and soft-boiled egg as shown above. Leftover patties can be frozen. Reheat from the freezer on a tray in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, turning once. From the fridge, 10 to 15 minutes should be enough.