Friday 12 September 2014

Wartime Ham and Potato 'Cakes'

For the love of me, I cannot find the recipe for this so have done it as best as I can remember. Needing ham, we added a small ready cooked piece to our weekly shopping list - not very nice so shan't do that again. Anyhow, after making and eating them - they were lovely - thought I'd give you the recipe. Also realised that these could be made with Spam which would be more in the wartime keeping!

Serves 4

1 1/2lb - 2 lb of mashed potatoes
1 - 2 tablespoons chopped chives or parsley
1 large onion - diced finely
4oz diced bacon, ham or Spam
Salt and pepper to taste
Finely ground Polenta or breadcrumbs

Gently fry the onion until softened and the bacon, ham or Spam until lightly brown, leave to cool.

When cool, add to the mashed potatoes along with the herbs.

Using an ice cream scoop (ours measure 1.5" across) or a good tablespoon of mix, form into balls then flatten into patties.

Roll carefully into the Polenta to coat. If using breadcrumbs, you made need to dip them first into a beaten egg before rolling in breadcrumbs.

Put on a lined tray as each is done, then store in the fridge until required for frying/baking. They must be thoroughly cold as it helps them remain intact if frying.

When ready, add enough fat/oil to a frying pan to cover the bottom. Lay in half the batch and don't turn until you are sure they are crispy on one side. Turn, crisp second side and put on a plate in the oven to keep warm until 2nd batch are ready.

Serve with salad, or hot veg and a flavoursome gravy, or whatever you fancy. We ate half of them for tea and froze the others, in-between sheets of parchment/greaseproof paper, then wrapped in cling film. They need to be cooked from frozen. Sorry about the slightly blurred picture but I had cropped it to fit my menu plan!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!


8 comments:

  1. They look good. I have a bowl of mashed potato ready for cheese and potato cakes, but might ring the changes with these.

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    Replies
    1. Bacon, spam or very nice ham, all works well.

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  2. I make these little cakes with whatever I have to hand, I think it was cold roast chicken and stuffing last time. I use cornmeal as it means not breaking an egg only to use half. They are tasty and filling and cheap.

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    Replies
    1. I prefer cornmeal as well, hate wasting an egg.

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  3. Spam, now you're talking, I love fried spam!!!

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    Replies
    1. Makes fantastic sandwiches as well, plain and fried!

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  4. I think I will try these with some cooking bacon chops instead of the ham/spam. They would be nice with a fried egg and some baked beans as a change from salad wouldn't they :-)

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    Replies
    1. I love mashed potato sandwiches so once fried, I might even eat them that way as well!

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