Boxty

"Boxty is essentially potato cakes using both grated and mashed potatoes. The word comes from the Irish bac-stai, for the traditional cooking of potatoes on the hob (bac) over an open fire (stai.) Margaret Johnson ("The New Irish Table") gives this recipe for a boxty from a restaurant in Killarney, County Kerry, using only grated potatoes. She recommends serving it with bacon and cabbage or Irish stew."
 
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photo by Billy Green photo by Billy Green
photo by Billy Green
photo by Billy Green photo by Billy Green
photo by Billy Green photo by Billy Green
photo by May I Have That Rec photo by May I Have That Rec
photo by May I Have That Rec photo by May I Have That Rec
Ready In:
25mins
Ingredients:
8
Yields:
16 potato cakes
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ingredients

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directions

  • Line a large bowl with a piece of muslin or cheesecloth, or a clean linen towel.
  • Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the potatoes into the bowl.
  • Squeeze the cloth to extract as much of the starchy liquid as possible.
  • Discard the starchy liquid, return the potatoes to the bowl, and stir in the onion, eggs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
  • Add the flour and mix well.
  • In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat.
  • Drop the potato mixture, 1 tablespoonful at a time, into the skillet; do not crowd the pan.
  • Flatten each cake with a spatula and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned and crisp.
  • Transfer the cakes to a baking sheet and keep warm in a 200-degree oven.
  • Repeat until all the mixture is used, adding more butter as necessary.
  • Serve immediately.

Questions & Replies

  1. any idea what a serving size is? The recipe lists cakes, but not how many people the recipe will serve, and the nutritional data says the entire recipe makes one serving... 16 potato cakes for 54 calories? I think not. Anyone know?
     
  2. Can these be frozen?
     
  3. These seem more similar to latke, to me.
     
  4. When this says 1 pound boiling potato, does this mean to boil them whole as if going to make mashed potatoes?
     
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Reviews

  1. Pretty good! After reading the other reviews, I used the food processor with grater attachment, which I heartily encourage others to use-- so easy!! I would rather to use a sweet onion, and I would mince it rather than chop it next time. The nutmeg was interesting, and played very well with the pepper. It's worth a try with the nutmeg, but I'm not certain I'd use it again.
     
  2. My mother in law used to make these without the nutmeg. I had forgotten all about them and I remember the kids used to love these. I made them just for a change and the kids (though older now) still love them. The nutmeg does add a nice taste to the cakes, and is not as overpowering as I thought it may be. Very easy using a food processor (grater attachment)and very quick indeed, although after all my efforts the son still put his tomato suace on them !!! Thanks Chef Kate
     
  3. What a wonderful recipe. My husband just made this for my breakfast and it was delicious, the entire batch was ate in less than 30 minutes!! This is sure to be a family favourite. Thank you.
     
  4. A super and very authentic recipe for Boxty. I make mine with mashed potato or grated potato, and this recipe worked well with the latter method. I have never added nutmeg before, and I rather liked it - I used lots of black pepper, but not much salt, as I only has salted butter to hand. I was late making this for St Patrick's Day, but I never need an excuse to make this classic recipe - so, thanks Kate for posting a variation on a much loved Irish postao dish.......made for PRMR tag game. FT:-)
     
  5. Very easy to make, simple, and inexpensive. Just made this as a quick snack. I used my food processor to chop the onion and it's grater attachment to grate the potatoes, so all-in-all, I think I invested 5 minutes or less on the whole prep. Tastewise, the onion was a little overpowering for us (would probably halve it in the future) and they were a bit underseasoned (didn't really notice the salt or nutmeg over the taste of the onion), but for such a quick and cheap snack or side, it would definately be worth playing with the proportions to make them right for us. Thanks.
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>I have always loved to cook. When I was little, I cooked with my Grandmother who had endless patience and extraordinary skill as a baker. And I cooked with my Mother, who had a set repertoire, but taught me many basics. Then I spent a summer with a French cousin who opened up a whole new world of cooking. And I grew up in New York City, which meant that I was surrounded by all varieties of wonderful food, from great bagels and white fish to all the wonders of Chinatown and Little Italy, from German to Spanish to Mexican to Puerto Rican to Cuban, not to mention Cuban-Chinese. And my parents loved good food, so I grew up eating things like roasted peppers, anchovies, cheeses, charcuterie, as well as burgers and the like. In my own cooking I try to use organics as much as possible; I never use canned soup or cake mix and, other than a cheese steak if I'm in Philly or pizza by the slice in New York, I don't eat fast food. So, while I think I eat and cook just about everything, I do have friends who think I'm picky--just because the only thing I've ever had from McDonald's is a diet Coke (and maybe a frie or two). I have collected literally hundreds of recipes, clipped from the Times or magazines, copied down from friends, cajoled out of restaurant chefs. Little by little, I am pulling out the ones I've made and loved and posting them here. Maybe someday, every drawer in my apartment won't crammed with recipes. (Of course, I'll always have those shelves crammed with cookbooks.) I'm still amazed and delighted by the friendliness and the incredible knowledge of the people here. 'Zaar has been a wonderful discovery for me.</p>
 
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