Scandinavian Dinner: Mashed Potato Waffles with Horseradish Sauce
The main course of this Iceland-inspired Scandinavian dinner consists of two parts – Mustardy Pulled Leg of Lamb and Mashed Potato Waffles / Pancakes. Waffles slash pancakes, you might ask? Let me explain.
The initial vision for this dish was crispy, cheesy, savory potato waffles topped with horseradish sauce, mustard, and a pile of pulled lamb. Mashed potato waffles are not a new idea. There are tons of recipes available elsewhere on the internet, and most are fairly straightforward: take mashed potatoes, mix with eggs and flour, waffle it.
However, in reality, things turned out differently. My first waffle was an absolute mess! Simultaneously burnt and gooey and stuck all over the waffle iron (I know, not exactly what you want to hear from your resident “expert” food blogger). I quickly searched for others who had made potato waffles to see where I had gone wrong. Picture after picture of golden brown, perfectly formed waffles stared back at me. Either the entire internet was lying, or I had messed up. No tips or tricks or horror stories out there to learn from, either.
After 30 minutes spent cleaning the waffle iron I was too exhausted to try again so I decided to switch to potato pancakes and relinquished the whole task to Trevor. He tinkered with the batter and got it working well enough to make the pancakes you see here. The next day while I was at work, he texted me a picture of a golden brown waffle. I was baffled. How could mine have been such a disaster and his worked so well? Did he just have the magic touch?
Upon reflection, and after watching a few videos, I’ve determined that my first waffle had two mistakes – the batter was too wet, and I didn’t let it cook for nearly long enough. Armed with my new theory, I added more flour to the batter and tried again. The recipe below is where we ended up with the potato waffles, but I think the trick is more in the technique than in the exact ratios. Definitely spray your waffle iron with non-stick spray, make sure there’s enough flour in your batter so that it’s fairly stiff, and let the waffles cook on low for at least 5 minutes – don’t be tempted to open the iron too soon or your waffle will split and you’ll have to start over! I’ll keep testing the recipe below and come back with any updates.
Mashed Potato Waffles with Horseradish Sauce
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Scandinavian
Serves: Serves 6
Ingredients
- 3 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- Sea salt
- Pepper
- ½ cup plain skyr
- 2 eggs
- ¾ c. grated gouda cheese
- 1 ½ cup flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- Non-stick spray for waffle iron
- Horseradish sauce, for serving
Instructions
- Add the potatoes to a large pot and cover with cold water. Salt water generously. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil potatoes until they are very tender when poked with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes.
- Add the milk to the potatoes and mash with a potato masher until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If making waffles immediately, continue to next stop. If not, refrigerate mashed potatoes until ready to make waffles.
- Just before making waffles, beat skyr, eggs, and grated gouda cheese together in a bowl until smooth. Stir into the mashed potatoes until evenly combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda to combine. Stir into the potato batter.
- Heat a waffle iron on medium-low heat. Spray generously with the non-stick spray. Add 2/3 of a cup of the potato batter to the center of the pre-heated waffle iron. Close iron and cook for at least 4-5 minutes, possibly longer depending on your waffle iron. If you open the iron too early, the middle of the waffle will not be cooked and the waffle will break apart. If you feel resistance and notice the waffle starting to pull apart when you begin to open the iron, it’s not done yet! When the waffle holds together and is dark golden brown on both sides, carefully remove it from the waffle iron and place on a plate. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve with horseradish sauce and Mustard and Thyme Pulled Leg of Lamb on top.
Note: Recipe adapted loosely from Serious Eats.
Read on for the accompanying lamb recipe and notes on how the whole Scandinavian dinner came together!
Smoked Salmon Rye Crackers with Caper Cream
Mustard and Thyme Pulled Leg of Lamb
Skyr Mousse with Wild Blueberries and Sweet Gingerbread Crumbs
;){kind=link}
Comments