This week's French Fridays with Dorie almost never got made - we received the recipe list fairly late, and I have been away on business for the last two days. I squeezed in this week's recipe, Matafan (mashed potato pancakes) the day that the list was posted.
I had hoped that Matafan would be quick and easy, but unfortunately, they are a bit of a pfaff. You need to salt-roast potatoes for an hour and a half, then push them through a sieve, then mix them up with eggs, milk and flour, and after seasoning them, add separately beaten egg whites, and then fry them. Good grief!
As I do not have a potato ricer, and pushing the not really soft potato through a sieve didn't work very well, I just ended up trying to mash the roasted potatoes, and ended up with lumpy pancakes. Now this is not bad - think frittata and its ilk - but these probably would have been better if the potato was smooth. (I don't think an hour and half roasting time was quite enough for my potatoes.)
Lumps aside, these pancakes were rustically good - batter + potato + seasoning is rather good, but not better than bunging a pierced potato in the microwave for 5 minutes, cutting it open and slathering it with whatever you fancy. For my money, I will stick with the latter, but I am glad that I learned aboutt matafan (which are totally new to me - never heard of them before).
To see what the other Doristas thought of matafan, check out the FFwD LYL link for this week when it is up.
Mmmmmm.....
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These ar enew to me also, but as you said you are happy that your tried.
ReplyDeleteGaye I always mash potatoes with a hand mixer while they are still hot. I think it is the easiest way. Must try these pancakes as they sound delicious.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you did a nice job on these, I can't see the lumps at all...they look delicious and I would love to sit down and give one a try. Interesting recipe indeed.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of potato pancakes! Delicious side dish.
ReplyDeleteWell done for getting this made even though you were busy!
Good grief, that does sound like a bit of work. I wonder if these would work with plain old leftover mashed potatoes. In which case I could see making them more often.
ReplyDeleteI had to sit this week out but I hope to catch up with them later in the month. Good to know that I will have to set aside a bit of time for them.
I must confess - I cheated & used dried potatoes... There was no way the potatoes were going to get roasted & riced.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting recipe & I too am glad to have tried it.
Have a great weekend.
Yeah, for a savory potato, I'll stick with the microwaved version. Great post, and I love the color of your matafan.
ReplyDeleteEven though I thought the method was too long (and pushing potato flesh through a colander tedious) I liked learning the technique. It will definitely be helpful for making gnocchi or other potato dumplings. I thought the matafan were a pretty cool blank canvas, both for mix-ins and toppings.
ReplyDeletelook absolutely nice and these are new to me Cakelaw:)
ReplyDeleteYour plate of matafan looks great...I don't see lumps, just goodness. This recipe does have a bit of drawn out time, but I cheated and the microwave worked just fine.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree that it is a bit of work. Glad you made the recipe though and your pancakes look good.
ReplyDeleteWell your matafan certainly look good! I, too, thought they were a bit too much work but it was fun to try!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that its crossing my mind to get this done with the help of technology.
ReplyDeleteI am sure I would love these but I side with you on cutting out the fussiness - I make potato scones every now and again which are just mashed potato, butter, salt and flour - so i mainly make them when I have leftover mashed potato - and then they are fried until golden - quick and easy!
ReplyDeleteI'm with oneexpatslife--I could see making potato cakes with leftover roast (or mashed) potatoes, but I can't imagine going through roasting a potato just to mash it up and turn it into something else! Sheesh!
ReplyDeleteGlad they were tasty, though!
I enjoyed the challenge, but agreed, lots of work for the result. Yours have a lovely golden color.
ReplyDeleteLove the sound of these...even if they were a faff; I love potato in any shape or form!
ReplyDeleteThese sound tasty, but I'm with you on microwaving a potato -- it's one of my favorite things to eat!
ReplyDeleteI also almost missed this one. The list came out the day before surgery, and I'm only getting around to posting, reading about it two weeks later. They were a bit of work, and I think you could do with leftover mashed.
ReplyDeleteI could have sworn I left a comment on your Matafan last week! I felt the same way that these were far too much work, but I did cut down on the amount of time by putting my potatoes in the microwave. They were delicious, but I like them just as well made from leftover mashed potatoes. Yours look so nicely browned!
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