When Life Throws You Potatoes…
September 10th, 2006 | by Loretta |If life threw potatoes, I’d run, cry and be really scared. Potatoes aren’t exactly light. In fact, they can hurt much more than lemons, I imagine, if they were ever projected and headed my way.
Anyway, I tried to make something like pan-seared crab cakes with the potatoes I had cooked and left in my fridge. That’s a tip I should share: When you get potatoes, it’s usually not a bad idea to cook them all at once by boiling them in a pot. Why? Well, it’s less likely to sprout and grow eyes…that will later stare at you and, if eaten, hurt your stomach like crazy. And they keep pretty well.
What can you do with a cooked potato? Well, you can bake it. It takes a lot less time to bake a potato that’s already cooked than one that’s raw– yes, this means you save energy. You can also sear them in a pan if you want something crusty. Or you can mash them after reheating them. Or you can eat them just boiled, with appropriate condiments and sauces.
Or you can be a little crazy and try to make crabcakes on a while, fail, then end up making hash.
The idea was to exploit the starch in the potato, season it, then get an egg to bind it all together. After the needed mixing, shape into patties either before heating the pan or doing them freeform into the pan.
This would have worked, but I was impatient and turned the giant patty too early. 
So I ended up making hash.
- Potatos, diced and smashed
- Imitation crab meat (or the real deal if you’re not living on il student budget)
- Egg
- Seasonings: cider vinegar, chili powder, pepper, mustard, whatever makes you happy
I did, however, make smaller ones, somewhat successfully.
Developing a good crust seems to come down to three things: non-stick surface, hot pan and patience. Ok, lesson learned.