So Many Apples...

Right now, we have more apples than we know what to do with. The giant bag of them keeps moving around the kitchen in an effort to keep it out of the way, and it seems that no matter how many we eat, the bag never gets any emptier. So I decided to try to put apples in something savory instead of sweet, and came up with this recipe. (I'm also trying to do a better job of including some form of measurements with recipes on here.)

Potato-Apple-Feta Pancakes
2 large baking potatoes, peeled
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
Handful of crumbled feta cheese (about 3 oz?)
2 eggs, beaten
2-3 TB flour (I actually forgot that I had planned to add flour when I made these, and it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. They’d probably be more cake-y, less potato-y, so try whichever you want)
About 2 TB snipped chives
Salt & pepper to taste
Olive oil

Into a large bowl, grate the apples and potatoes using the largest holes on a box grater. The apples may just turn into mush, that’s okay. You just have to work quickly to keep them from browning. (If you absolutely need to, toss the mixture with some lemon juice, which slows the oxidation process that causes browning in certain fruits and veggies.) Sprinkle with salt, mix well.
Taking the potato mixture in small handfuls, squeeze the hell out of them. Get as much moisture out of them as you possibly can. Don’t worry about squeezing too hard, just get them as dry as possible. Place the dry mixture into a colander until the bowl is empty. Wipe all the moisture out of the bowl with a paper towel and move the potato mixture back to it. Add the eggs, chives, feta, pepper and flour, if you’re using it. (Be aware that if you don’t use flour, there will be liquid in the bottom of your bowl, just drain it off the best you can.)

Place a frying pan over high heat. Add a bit of oil and let it get good and hot. A good trick to use when frying things: if you flick some water onto the oil and it bubbles on contact, the oil is hot enough. With a spoon, drop some of the potato mixture onto the oil, and use the back of the spoon to smoosh it into a thin pancake. This recipe should make about 8, so use that to judge how much mixture to add.

Now, this is the key: don’t mess with it for three minutes. I think people’s tendency when cooking something in a pan is to poke at it, try to flip it, shake it around, etc. Just don’t. Go read a magazine, clip your toenails, something. Three minutes. Okay. Flip it and give it three minutes on the other side. Drain on paper towels. Add a bit more oil and repeat. Then devour.



Along with being aesthetically not-too-appealing, this dish is also totally unhealthy. I served these with sour cream and chives because in terms of fat, I think you should go big or go home. I also made baked apple-tamari tofu, which I’ll post the recipe for later. Oh god, do we have a lot of apples. Finally, serve this meal with classy beverages!!



Robbo’s review:
Surprisingly, he really liked these. One thing you have to understand about feeding Rob is that it’s often like feeding a kid (ask him what his favorite food is sometime—it’s chicken fingers and French fries.) So it can be difficult to get him to try things that are a bit out of the ordinary, including apples in potato pancakes. When I get him to admit he likes something ‘alternative,’ it’s always a big victory for me. Anyway, he gave it 8/10 hot dogs.