Potato Salad Patties

Summertime is here! Officially and in reality – love the sunshine. This means bbq’s, picnics and outdoor parties. One of my favorite things to make for any of these is potato salad. I will admit, I am not the best at judging quantities of potato salad so inevitably, there are vast amounts of potato salad I make and take, and there is always something coming back. At the risk of over indulging on carbs in an obvious state, I came up with this idea for left over potato salad i.e. carbs in a disguised state.

This recipe bakes the transformed salad to make an ideal “dry” snack. Perfect with a tossed green salad or just plain. Vary the shape and size to go from meal size to snack size bites, similar to arancini. Like leftover risotto, these patties can be stuffed with something or left plain. The whole idea is to finish the salad – it usually contains mayonnaise and that shouldn’t be kept for more than 1 – 2 days for optimal safety/freshness. So I thought this would be good for you to try if you have left over potato salad. Of course if you can finish it within one or two days, go ahead, otherwise, try this simple “makeover”.  Scale this recipe up or down, it’s only a guide. I got about 20 patties.  We are not building a ship to transport us in space, it’s food, have fun with it! As always – enjoy!

4 cups leftover potato salad at room temperature i.e. on the counter for no more than 30 minutes – any type of potato salad will do (typically containing potatoes, carrots, celery, red onion, pickles, mustard, mayo, herbs, and seasonings – in other words, a flavorful potato salad)
4 Thai Chilies or Jalapenos or some type of chili paste – 2 teaspoons – pepperoncini picanti, sambal etc. as there wasn’t any heat in the original salad (I know, who does that?! But sometimes you go to a party not knowing who will be attending and so you need to leave it fairly neutral in taste)
2 eggs
1 cup panko plus more for coating the patties – start with 1/2 cup and add more as needed – you could also use fresh bread crumbs (but please don’t use dried breadcrumbs)
Additional seasonings if required – fresh rosemary, basil, thyme, cayenne, curry powder etc. – you get the idea.

Pre-heat the oven to 400F, line a baking tray with parchment paper
Mash the room-temperature potato salad – I like texture in my food, I could have used a processor but didn’t want a paste – that’s for more delicate applications
Depending on how moist your potato mash is, start by adding 1/2 cup panko and 2 eggs
Add more panko as necessary until when you grab a bit and squeeze it, it remains compressed
Form patties – about 1/2″ thick round or ovals
Drop into Panko crumbs, re-shape and place on the parchment lined baking tray
Bake for 20 minutes or until patties are firm when lifted off the tray
Don’t over bake as they will dry out and you want them moist with a crispy outside
If you like, you can spray the surface with cooking oil – I didn’t and they turned out fine
That’s it – really!
As always – enjoy!