Mashed Potato Pancakes

This recipe was amazing!  My husband could have eaten the whole plate of these delicious  potato pancakes!  I was watching Paula Deen one afternoon, on the Food Network make these yummy potato pancakes; they looked so much better than the potato pancakes I had made in the past.  Since I happened to have left-over mashed potatoes, I decided this would be a great switch from your traditional side of mashed potatoes.  My husband absolutely loves mashed potatoes (he is a meat and potato kind of guy) I thought this would be a nice change for him.  The great thing about potato pancakes is you can adapt them to your taste buds and add ingredients to them that you love (almost like an omelette).  I think next time I might make them with bit more of a kick and add a diced jalapeno pepper to them in addition to the pepper jack cheese. But please feel free to switch switch up the ingredients to your liking!  I adapted this recipe from Paula Deen, and of course she had put bacon in her’s and also cheddar cheese.  These pancakes are sure to be  hit at your next dinner and they were a perfect compliment to my Valentine’s menu of fish and asparagus!  Buon Appetito!!

Recipe:
6 cups of organic golden potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes (you could always use left-over mashed potatoes too!)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of freshly chopped cilantro
3 1/2 cups of panko bread crumbs, divided
1 large egg, lighty beaten
1/2 cup of pepper jack cheese (or the cheese of your choice)
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup organic butter, room temperature
1/4 cup organic sour cream
3 tablespoons EVOO

Directions:
(Skip this section if you have left-over mashed potatoes or…) In a large Dutch oven, add the potatoes and cover with water.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; then reduce heat, and simmer until tenders about 10 to 12 minutes.  Drain well and add to a large bowl.

Mash the potatoes with the  minced garlic clove and salt and pepper.  Gold in 2 1/1 cups of the panko, the egg, cheese, onion, butter, and sour cream.  From the potatoes mixture into 3-inch patties.  Put the remaining 1 cup of panko in a shallow f=dish and dredge the potato patties in the crumbs.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat, add the potato patties, and cook until crisp and form nice brown grill marks, 3 to 4 minutes per side.  Arrange on a serving platter or dinner plate immediately.