On Friday, St. Patrick’s day returns to Boulder, although the “Kiss me, I’m Irish” shirts may have already tipped you off to that. While primarily known as a holiday for drinking, St. Patrick’s day is a fantastic opportunity for getting into the kitchen and cooking up some green-packed deliciousness.
This week’s Buffs in the Kitchen recipe is for a green St. Patty’s day potato patty. A great alternative to meat burgers, as well as a much cheaper option, this main ingredient in this recipe is potatoes. Head to the store and pick up a bundle of Yukon Gold or Russets before Friday. Both have a lovely starch content, as opposed to their waxy brethren potatoes, making them the ideal choice for mashing.
Other ingredients:
Parsley; a bundle sells for around 50 cents — and going fresh is worth it people.
Onions; I choose red for the color and sweet tang they have when partially cooked in the patty, but use whichever kind you have.
Spices; There is no need to stick to the Irish tradition of notoriously under-spiced food. I used Berbere, the quintessential spice blend of Ethiopia. Choose your fav blend and dump in more than you think you will need. Coriander also works well in this dish.
Garlic; I mean, come on: always have garlic on hand. Don’t worry about the garlic breath — your cooking skills will be more than impressive enough to make anyone want to kiss you.
Oil or Butter; do I even need to say this?
Flour for sprinkling; this will help bind the patties together. Side note: add an egg to the mix and you have gnocchi.
Directions:
Wash the ‘taaatoes and put them in a medium sized pot with filled with cold water. It is important to start them cold so they get cooked all the way through. Bring water to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender, which is about 20-30 minutes.
While boiling the potatoes, chop garlic, onions and parsley.
When they are tender, drain and peel the potatoes while they are still warm. In a warm pan or pot, mash the potatoes with a large fork or masher. Add butter or olive oil and salt. When the mash is nice and smooth, sprinkle in the onions, parsley, garlic, spices and a handful of flower.
Using your hands, knead the quasi-dough so that it just barely holds together when shaped into the patties. This should not need much flour, but if you do happen to add too much, drizzle in olive oil.
Sprinkle some flour on a cutting board and dump the mound of goodies on top. Flatten your mountain and divide into even proportions. Moving your hands in a circular motion, form the potato mixture into rounds.
In a skillet, heat butter and oil (use both to prevent burning) and gently place down the patties. Sizzle on each side for several minutes, until golden brown.
Serve on a bed of lettuce or kale with a generous amount of hard cheese (pecorino or parmesan if you have it).
Most importantly, have a fun and safe St. Patty’s day. To make the holiday, extra festive, serve your patties with an awesome drink:
The Dancing Leprechaun
- 1 ½ oz. Irish whiskey
- ¾ oz. Drambuie
- ¾ oz. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- Ginger ale
- Lemon peel
- In a shaker, combine whiskey, Drambuie and lemon juice. Shake briefly over ice.
- Strain into a chilled highball glass with ice.
- Top with ginger ale. Stir gently.
- Twist lemon peel over the drink, as to release its oils, and drop it into the drink.
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