Recipe: Polpettes

Over all, I think these were really good. I think they are a good side dish. They are pretty much mashed potato patties with onion and feta cheese. The feta really added to the taste and made them a little bit unique.

Taste grade: B+

Cooking them took a little longer than I would have liked, especially for a side dish. In the recipe it says that you need 1.25 lbs of potatoes. I used about 5 potatoes (4 medium-large and 1 small). At first I thought this was too much, but I don't think it was. I then peeled them, cut them, and put them in the microwave for 20 minutes instead of boiling them over the stove top.

As for frying them, this was trickier than I thought. In the directions it says to fry them until brown. Well, let me tell you that they mean very dark brown. If you only lightly brown them, they fall apart. Also, you'll need more oil than what the recipe requires. This process took me a long time (most certainly longer than I wanted to stand in front of the stove).

This recipe also made a lot more than I anticipated.

Cook grade: B-

Ok, so here's the recipe if you want to try them on your own:

Polpettes (from Appetizers, Finger Food, Buffets, and Party Food, 2009)

1 1/4 lb floury (mealy) potatoes
1 cup feta cheese
4 spring onions (scallions), chopped
3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp lemon juice
plain (all purpose) flour, for dredging
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and ground black pepper
fresh dill sprigs and shredded spring onions (scallions), to garnish
lemon wedges to serve

Cook the potatoes in their skins in lightly salted, boiling water until soft. Drain and cool slightly, then chop them in half and peel while still warm.

Place the potatoes in a bowl and mash until smooth. Crumble the feta cheese into the potatoes and add the spring onions, dill, egg, and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. (The cheese is salty, so taste before you add salt.) Stir well, until combined.

Cover and chill until firm. Divide the mixture into walnut size balls, then flatten them slightly. Dredge with flour, shaking off the excess.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the polpettes, in batches, until golden brown on both sides. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot, garnished with spring onions and sprigs of dill, and serve with lemon wedges.

Over all grade: B