Spinach Mashed Potato Pancakes

When most people think of potato pancakes, they think of more of a hash-brown type pancake. Honestly, I never considered making them myself. However, while on a lengthy road trip with my boss, we entered into a detailed culinary conversation in which she mentioned spinach mashed potato pancakes. I was intrigued and needed to steal the recipe.

The great thing about this recipe is that it can be adopted to suit your particular tastes or dietary restrictions. We topped our pancakes with mozzarella cheese and tomato puree, but I could also see them being served with a mushroom sauce, sour cream, or a dill dip. Although we cooked this recipe vegetarian, it could be even adopted for vegans (by eliminating the mozzarella cheese and not using milk, or butter in the mashed potatoes and also skipping the egg) or for meat eaters if you must (by adding crumpled bacon or small slices of ham). Also, you can adopt the recipe based on how much work you want to put in. If you don't want to saute the spinach, use frozen. Buy pre-prepared mashed potatoes. Or, plan a meal with mashed potatoes the night before and then the second night make the pancakes with the leftovers. The possibilities are endless!

I will definitely be making this one again.

Spinach Mashed Potato Pancakes
3-4 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 bunch spinach
butter
milk
salt
pepper
mozzarella
olive oil
cooking wine
1 egg
1/3 cup flour
tomato paste, canned (if you prefer, you can make your own by broiling some tomatoes for about 5 minutes, placing them in a food processor, and adding a touch of salt)

Begin by boiling water in a large pot. Place the potatoes in the boiling water with some salt and boil until soft. Drain the potatoes and mash in a large bowl. Add milk, butter, and salt to taste.

In the same bowl where you cooked the potatoes, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and add the bunch of spinach and a touch of white cooking wine. Cook on low heat until the spinach shrinks and is fully cooked; between 2 and 4 minutes.

Mix the spinach and potatoes together in a large bowl. Add one egg and flour and mix thoroughly.

In a skillet, heat either 1 tablespoon of olive oil or 1 tablespoon of butter. Place about 1/2 cup of the mashed potato/spinach mixture in the skillet and press down with a fork to form a pancake. Repeat. Cook pancakes for about 5 minutes on each side until pancakes are crisp. Between batches, you may need to add more butter or oil. Serve with mozzarella cheese and tomato puree.