Smothered Potato Cakes

Uh oh! Here's one of those "hot" words - you know, words to avoid when eating out if you're trying to lose or maintain weight. "Smothered" usually means high-fat, high-calorie and low-nutrient. Not here. Here, smothered just means delicious.

This was another one of those "what in the heck am I going to make for dinner" nights. The groceries were getting low, which means there weren't a ton of options. I had russet potatoes, brown rice, some leftover cooked chicken, and a few other things. I was really craving some zucchini fritters, but of course we didn't have zucchini. I thought maybe I could do potato fritters instead.

I also had some leftover chicken from another recipe that turned out far less than desirable (needless to say I haven't posted it). The problem was that the chicken was incredibly dry. I didn't want to waste it, so I thought putting it in a gravy would help revive it.

This actually turned out pretty good. There were no leftovers. Enough said. (Toot! Toot! Yes, that was me tooting my own horn.)

Ingredients:
8 medium russet potatoes, peeled
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Sea salt & ground black pepper
1/4 cup flour of choice (I used sweet white sorghum - if you use coconut flour you'll need a lot less)
2 cups chicken broth
2 T. dehydrated onion flakes
1 bay leaf
5 drops liquid smoke
2 T. full fat coconut milk
1-2 T. arrowroot powder
Cold water
3 cooked chicken breasts, chopped

Directions:
Shred potatoes in a food processor. If you don't have a food processor, you can use the large holes in a cheese grater. But, it will take you much, much longer.

Put shredded potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle generously with sea salt, tossing to coat evenly. Walk away for ten minutes.

The potatoes will oxidize and turn pink (or some variation of pink). Don't worry. They will return to potato color when you cook them. Squeeze all of the moisture out of the potatoes. Squeeze like you mean it. If you have some cheesecloth, it makes this process much simpler.

Put potato shreds into a dry mixing bowl. Add cumin and black pepper, tossing to coat. Add eggs and flour, mixing well with a wooden spoon. If mixture is too wet, add a little more flour. It should be wet enough to stick together, but not so wet you can still wring moisture out. Too wet - they'll fall apart. Too dry - tastes yucky and floury.

Preheat your biggest skillet over medium-high heat. Melt a little coconut or olive oil in the pan. Form potato cakes by pressing potato mixture firmly into a 1/3 cup measuring cup. Tap it out into your hand, flatten slightly, and set in hot oil. Use a fork to press it out evenly. Let cook 4-5 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom. Flip, and cook another 4-5 minutes or until golden brown.

Important: Do not fiddle with the cakes while they're cooking or they will fall apart. Be patient, and only lift the corner of the cake with a spatula when you think they're almost finished. Remember to add additional oil between batches.

While potatoes are cooking, prepare the gravy. In a large saucepan, combine broth, coconut milk, onion flakes, bay leaf, liquid smoke and salt & pepper. Whisk together, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Let simmer about 5 minutes, allowing the bay leaf to release its flavors and the onion flakes to absorb moisture. Combine arrowroot and just enough cold water to mix it, then whisk into the gravy. When desired thickness is reached, stir in chopped chicken and continue simmering until chicken is heated through.

Remove the bay leaf and serve chicken gravy over potato cakes.