Crispy Mashed Potato Cakes (Rachel Ray)

By

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
Show: 30 Minute Meals
Episode: Steppin' Out

  • 4

Ingredients

  • 2 large Idaho potatoes, 2 pounds total weight
  • 2-3 ounces cream cheese
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • 2 scallions, very finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter

Preparation

Step 1

Peel and dice potatoes and add to a large pot. Cover with water and salt the water. Bring to boil over medium heat, and cook until tender. Drain the potatoes and return to hot pot to dry. POTATOES MUST BE DRY!!!!! Transfer potatoes to a bowl. Soften cream cheese in a microwavable bowl and microwave the cream cheese for 20 seconds on high. Add to the potatoes along with sour cream, scallions, zest, egg, salt and pepper, to taste. Mash potatoes to combine mixture.

Heat the oil and butter in nonstick skillet over medium heat. Drop 2-inch mounds of potatoes into skillet and gently press down to flatten a bit. Crisp potatoes until deeply golden on each side, about 7 to 8 minutes total. Mixture makes 8 golden cakes.
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REVIEWS:

Essentially a potato croquette -- I missed the usual crunchy coating. Though cream cheese and scallion might sounds like it would impart a lot of flavor, like other reviewers, I also missed the garlic and other seasonings that usually keep a croquette from tasting flat.

I just tried these with my leftover 'smashed' red skinned potatoes from Thanksgiving... amazing! I added the cream cheese, egg, and some seasonings... garlic, parsley, and paprika. They have alot of good punch and are even better than the first time around!

Easy, delicious....my family loved it. Just be sure to let the potatoes dry a little or you could end up with mushy mixture. I think you could add your favorite herbs and spices and it would add a little more punch to the dish.

This recipe was worthless. I always get sucked into trying Rachel's recipes only to be so disappointed that I bothered. I too thought this one was clever. But the cakes did not cook up well. Way to mushy to flip and they stuck to spatula when I tried to flatten them. I would've been better off making hash browns. And they really needed doctoring in the flavor department as do so many of her recipes. This was a thumbs down all the way around. A whole lot of trouble to be thrown down the disposal!

I try to stay away from Rachel Rays recipes, they often look good but come out bad, but I gave this one a chance because it seemed simple. The filling for the potatoes was typical for what you would put in a stuffed potato, no genius there. The part that intrigued me was making it into a cake. I was going to a dinner party and thought, what a cute twist on a classic. I made the potatoes but when it came to making them into cakes they stuck to my pan and no matter how long I cooked them they were too mushy to even try to flip. Since you put egg in the mashed potatoes, those are a waste, unless you try to cook them, but then your mashed potatoes are not creamy anymore. I even measured out my potatoes by weight because I knew consistency was important. If you are going to try to make the cakes, double up on the potatoes. Or try some other recipe!

I used yellow potatoes, and like most of the other reviewers, I decided not to use lemon zest. I used green onions for color and around 2 cloves of garlic. It was a hit at my house. I made these potato patties for breakfast.

I make regular potato cakes alot with leftovers, and I thought that these would be good bc of all the extra stuff added in them. i didnt use the lemon zest but I did use everything else. They were too sour and the outside started to burn and they just fell apart and weren't done enough in the middle. They had a funny taste.

We eliminated the lemon zest, but added cheddar cheese to the mix. We kept it on the stove too long waiting for the cakes to set, but they were pretty mushy. The mix tasted great prior to cooking, but once cooked, it needed more seasoning or something. Next time, think I'll just make the potatoes and cook as a twice baked dish like some of the other viewers have stated.

I followed the recipe as close as possible. I omitted the lemon zest and added smashed garlic gloves and cheddar cheese. I decided to let the potatoes cool a little longer than normal, but I had set them on top of the stove (the oven was on while I was cooking chicken and added the cream cheese to it. It made it easier to mold together and actually provided easier flipping in the skillet. I served it with oven fried chicken and my boyfriend loved it. This is one that I will be serving for the holidays.

I didn't add the lemon zest....on the show she said to make them how you want to.....so I added fried bacon, cut up finely....and finely grated sharp cheddar cheese....they fried up perfectly....my husband said this is gonna be a bad habit....lol....I also topped them with grated cheddar cheese right out of the pan so it would melt on top.....Big Hit here oh and I served them with a pork tenderloin....it was awesome....It will be a recipe I will keep.

I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one who had a lot of trouble with these. I must have not let my potatoes dry enough. Many of the cakes broke apart during the cooking process and were impossible to flip due to being too soft. While the presentation wasn't the most beautiful, they did TASTE delicious (hence the 3 starts. And that's really what mattered to me. Next time I will try to make this into a twice-baked-potato-casserole as another reviewer suggested.

Followed recipe to a T and as Rachel suggested on the show, I added chives and garlic. Make sure your potatoes are very dry. Served with baby spinach on top, lobster thermidor and steak. Absolutley divine!

I made these last night. Made them up to the fry a couple of hours ahead and then fryed right before service. They were tasty! Do not flip before they are ready and they will stay together for you! Enjoy...Vikki

A tasty and unique way to serve potatoes. My husband and I were going back for seconds on this one. It is a must try!