Cheesy Mashed Potato Puffs

By MooK

Ingredients

• 2 russet potatoes (a scant pound and a half), scrubbed and cut into 4-5 large chunks each
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 ounce Gruyere + more for grating over the puffs as a final touch
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon buttermilk
• 15 grinds of white pepper
• 2 strips bacon, fried, cooled and crumbled
• 1 tablespoon chopped scallions
• Maldon salt for sprinkling

Preparation

Step 1

Fill a 4-quart saucepan just over 1/2 full with water and add 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil and add the chopped potatoes. Cook ~20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender enough that you can mash them easily.

Drain and then put the potatoes into a mixing bowl. Using a potato masher, mash! When they're a nice consistency (mostly smooth but with some small chunks), add to them 1 oz of grated Gruyere, the buttermilk and white pepper. Stir gently to combine, making sure the white pepper and cheese are well incorporated.

Add the crumbled bacon and chopped scallions to this mixture. Stir to combine and spoon the whole mess into a ziploc or pastry bag fitted with the large circle tip. If using the ziploc, cut off one corner so you can pipe the potato mixture through into rounds. Heat and oil a griddle if you prefer to fry the puffs, or heat your oven to 425 with a rack in the upper third if you're going the baked puff route.

For griddlers: when the griddle and oil are nice and hot but not smoking, pipe small rounds of mashed potato (I find it easier to pipe into your hand to ensure the round shape remains vs a snakey result) out and cook them, flipping and turning, for a few minutes until most sides are golden brown and a bit crispy. Drain on paper towels and then sprinkle with grated Gruyere and Maldon.

For bakers: lightly grease a cookie sheet or pan, and follow the above directions for piping rounds. Bake 10 minutes and then turn the broiler on low to finish the puffs off. As with the griddled puffs, sprinkle with grated cheese and Maldon. Serve warm!

If making in advance, you can stop just after putting the mixture in the ziploc and then cook them fresh, OR you can reheat/toast the cooked puffs before serving.