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Fried Potato Balls
With a vegetable scoop cut out little balls from large, pared, raw potatoes. Let them soak for half an hour in very cold or ice water, to remove the starch. Drain and dry on a cloth. Then fry in hot fat for ten minutes in a frying-basket. Drain well, season, and serve hot. They may be garnished with chopped parsley.
The potato balls may also be cut from cold, cooked potatoes, and browned in the same way. They may be served with boiled fish.
A straightforward deep-fry that depends almost entirely on two things the original mentions but does not quantify: how dry the potatoes are and how hot the fat is.
- The hinge: dry them properlyWater clinging to the balls will make the fat spit violently and will steam the surface instead of crisping it. After the soak, roll them in a towel and leave them uncovered for a few minutes until the surfaces look matte.
- A vegetable scoopThis is what is now sold as a melon baller or Parisienne scoop. The recipe gives no size beyond "little balls"; a ball of roughly an inch suits the stated ten minutes, and noticeably larger ones will need longer.
- Fat temperatureThe recipe says only "hot fat." Aim for 340-350F. Ten minutes at that heat cooks a 1-inch raw ball through and colours it; much hotter and the outside browns before the centre softens.
- Choice of potatoA floury or all-purpose potato (russet, Maris Piper) gives the fluffy interior intended here. Waxy salad potatoes stay dense and never quite fluff.
- The fat itselfThe recipe says only "hot fat." Lard, beef drippings or a mixed frying fat would all suit it; any neutral oil with a high smoke point works equally well.
- Cooked-potato versionBalls cut from cold boiled potatoes are already tender and need only a few minutes in the fat to colour rather than the full ten. Handle them lightly; they crumble far more readily than raw ones.
- Seasoning and yieldSalt them the moment they leave the fat, while the surface is still greasy enough to hold it. The recipe gives no quantities; scooping wastes a good deal of each potato, so the trimmings left by the scoop are worth keeping for soup or mash.