1 lb Potatoes; peeled and cubed
Salt to taste
1/4 c Whole Milk
3 tb All-purpose Flour
2 Whole Eggs
Whites from 3 Large Eggs
1/4 c Heavy Cream
1/4 c Clarified Butter
Today’s recipe also calls for clarified butter. To prepare, simply cut 2
lbs. of unsalted butter into pieces and place in a medium saucepan over low
heat. Use a ladle to skim off the foam that rises to the top of the butter,
taking care to leave the clear, yellow butter in the saut?pan. Let the
butter cool slightly, then carefully strain it through a fine sieve into a
clean glass container. Make sure you leave the milky residue in the bottom
of the saucepan and discard it. You can refrigerate clarified butter for up
to 2 weeks, or freeze it for up to 30 days. Two pounds of regular unsalted
butter should yield about 3 cups of clarified butter.
So why all the extra work to remove some solids from the butter? Simply
stated, clarified butter burns less readily because milk solids are removed
during the clarifying process. Also, you can store your clarified butter
longer than regular butter. If you don’t want blackened-potatoes potato
pancakes, you’ll want to make the extra effort to cook them in clarified
butter.
Place the cubed potatoes with a dash of salt in a large pot and cover with
cool water. Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat
to medium-high, partially cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until
soft. Drain well and put through a potato ricer into a large mixing bowl.
Add milk to the riced potatoes and beat until smooth and fluffy. Stir in
the flour until well blended. Beat in the whole eggs, one at a time, and
then beat in the egg whites in the same, singular manner. Mix just enough
to combine the ingredients without overprocessing the mixture, add the
cream.
Preheat the oven to about 175-F degrees so you can maintain the warmth of
the fresh potato pancakes as they are cooked.
Place about one tablespoon of the clarified butter into a large, non-stick
skillet and drop rounds of potato batter into it with a ladle. Cook the
pancakes for about 2 minutes on each side, or until lightly brown, with the
centers set. Transfer the cooked potato pancakes to a baking sheet and keep
the prepared cakes on the tray in your warm oven.
Continue cooking the pancakes until no batter remains, using more of the
clarified butter as you need it.
Sprinkle the sheet of warm potato pancakes with a bit of salt, then arrange
the cakes as a partially overlapping circular layer around the stuffed veal
breasts (yesterday’s recipe).
Serve warm.
Yields
6 Servings