Nothing better than good old fashioned potato (tater) tots. I think we all love them but we are all probably used to the frozen ones that you bake in the oven or the ones you get at a fast food restaurants, that are basically the same thing. When it comes to potatoes, like french fries, there is nothing more satisfying than a crispy, potato outside with a soft, tender inside. So here is that gratification in a little bundle. This is a recipe that was adapted from chef Michael Richard and his cookbook happy in the kitchen. A fantastic book with simple ideas executed to perfection. I changed a few minor things from his recipe but in essence it is his and I'm certainly not going to take credit for it. His ingenious way of adding a little bit of gelatin to the mixture to hold the potato together while its cold is a technique that can be used in many other applications. That's for another time. Here is the recipe for tater tots
3 small potatoes peeled
2 cups of water
3 tbsp of potato flour
1 tbsp of powder (beef) gelatin
Salt and pepper to taste
Horseradish sauce
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/4 cup of mayo
1/4 cup of prepared horseradish
1 tsp of paprika
1/2 lemon juiced
salt to taste
1 1/2 cups of duck fat for frying
Preheat oven to 250
For the potatoes
Cut the potatoes lengthwise in quarters. Then slice quarters 4 pieces (basically a medium "dice") The potatoes don't have to be exact at all because you are putting them in the food processor. You just getting a somewhat even size. Place all the potatoes pieces in the food processor with 2 cups of water. Pulse 5-6 times until you have small pieces of potatoes (be careful not to just let the food processor run for a long time because you will encourage the potatoes to start browning which you don't want). Again they aren' all going to be the same size but you want them fairly small. Rinse potatoes with water under a fine mesh strainer then turn out on to a paper towel just to dry a little of the excess water. After you dried the potatoes with paper towel place on a sheet pan. With a fine mesh strainer sift the gelatin over the potatoes evenly. Then place the potatoes in the oven for 6-8 minutes so the gelatin melts. The potatoes should look glossy and little wet. Place the potatoes in a bowl and add salt, pepper, and potato flour. Mix well. Then take a piece of plastic wrap and place flat on the counter. Place the potato on the plastic wrap in a line horizontally. Then roll up the potato like a sausage in the plastic wrap. Take a cake tester (toothpick) and put little holes in the plastic wrap to allow the air pockets to escape. Then tie up both ends of the plastic so your potato "sausage" is tight. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes. Not much longer than that because again it will encourage the potato to oxidize. Then take out the potatoes and slice in 1 inch logs.
For the horseradish sauce.
Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Season and set aside.
For the Tater tots
Place 1 1/2 cup of duck fat to 360 degrees. Then fry in batches the tater tots until lightly golden brown. Drain onto paper towels. At this point you could freeze the tater tots for later use. Then turn down the duck fat to 325 degrees. Fry the tater tots a second time until golden brown on all sides. Drain and season with sea salt immediately. Serve with horseradish sauce and garnish with green onion, dill, and rosemary flowers. Enjoy!
