Cheesy Tater Tots Recipe
While browsing my favorite foodie sites on the web last week I found a really easy recipe for cheesy tater tots. The pictures were really wonderful, which is what caught my attention to begin with. Anyway, I copied them to my "must try" list because these are one of my hubbies favorite taters. Since times are not so great economically speaking, I always use what's in the pantry so I had to adjust a few things. First and most important, Thank you to Des, author of Life's Ambrosia for posting this fine recipe!
The original recipe:
- 2 Medium Russet Potatoes, peeled , chopped ( I used Idahos)
- 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese ( I packed the cheese rather loose)
- 2 Green Onions, chopped ( Sorry, I didn't have these)
- 1 Teaspoon Seasoning Salt ( I used 1/2 teaspoon Emerils' Essence and 1/2 tsp salt)
- 1 Egg, beaten
- ⅓ Cup Flour
- Oil for Frying
**Another way to try is to shred potatoes with a grater, then squeeze out the moisture in a potato ricer (or you can use a kitchen towel to wring out the moisture, then mix other ingredients to prepare.
Preheat 1 inch of oil in a pot.
Place chopped potatoes in a food processor and pulse about 8–10 times or until potatoes are roughly chopped but not mush. Do not over process, you don’t want mashed potatoes.
Transfer processed potatoes to a bowl. Add in cheddar cheese, green onions, seasoning salt, egg and flour. The mixture will be thick. Place some of the mixture on a spoon, if you can gently push it off with you finger and it falls in one piece it is ready to go. Add more flour if needed.
Once oil reaches 375 degrees, carefully spoon rounded teaspoonfuls of mixture into oil. Fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with more seasoning salt. (I sprinkled with plain salt) Serve hot with creamy ranch dip.
A few things to note: I used my KitchenAid round measuring tablespoon, scooped the mix, pressed it into the spoon with a butter knife to release extra water before dropping in the oil. This seemed to work well. (The pictures of the finished taters weren't so good and don't really show the shape so well)
This is my first batch with cheddar cheese... see no potato water. As it went, I sprinkled a bit more flour on the first mix about half way through the frying process; It developed a bit too much water.
Like I said tater tots are a favorite of my DH, so I figured I'd have to make two batches. With the second batch I used Sargento's Shredded Authentic Mexican Cheese, which is a combination of four cheeses. Well, this cheese made a huge difference in the taste! The tater tots were way more cheesy tasting and had a bit more flavor. Also, I noticed this mixture was much easier to drop. I think that was due to the finer shredding and softer consistency of these white cheeses.
My fans, that would be Red and DH, said they never tasted anything like them from a grocery store and "These tater tots are so good it's ridiculous!"