Potato Cakes with Garlic and Parsley

By cooksalot

These crisp and savory cakes, a longtime specialty of the Manhattan restaurant called Home, are best described as homemade Tater Tots in patty form. They are a nice change from mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving or Christmas (or any) dinner, make ideal carriers for fried or poached eggs at brunch, and can even double as latkes for Hanukkah. The power of the garlic is tamed in one easy step — by boiling it in the same water as the potatoes.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 to 3 pounds medium-starch potatoes, such as Yukon Gold, peeled and quartered
• 12 whole garlic cloves, peeled
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup fine yellow cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, more for frying
• Black pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Place potatoes, garlic and 1 teaspoon salt in a pot and add water to cover by 1 inch. Bring water to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until potatoes are just tender all the way through, about 10 minutes. Drain potatoes, return to the pot, and shake over medium heat for 1 minute to dry them out.
Add 3 tablespoons cornmeal and the parsley and mash everything together with a potato masher, leaving the mixture chunky.
Whisk together egg, egg yolk, milk and 1 tablespoon oil in a small bowl. Stir mixture into potatoes and season with 2 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Form potato mixture into rounds about 3/4-inch thick. Put remaining cornmeal in a shallow dish.
Working in batches, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Coat potato cakes on each side in cornmeal, brown on both sides in the skillet and transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining potato cakes, adding more oil as needed between batches. (At this point, cakes can be set aside at room temperature for up to 4 hours.)
Bake until heated through, 10 to 15 minutes.