Recipe:Potato series (1.Bergedil)

Bebe rushed out to buy a 10kg sack of rooster potatoes when it was selling for €3.99. Potatoes of floury type.  Thus, I have to come up with some recipes revolve around the spuds to finish them up in time before I end up with a sack of leaves and roots.

I have come up with a list of dishes using potatoes …

• Bergedil (Indonesian/Malay meat fritters)
• Potato croquette
• Spicy potato wedges (Easier way out)
• Gnocchi

Any other suggestion?

I hope by the end of the list, the potatoes would be all used up. Today, I started on bergedil.

Ingredients

• 500 g of floury type of potatoes
• 200 g / 1 tin of corned beef  OR fried and drained minced lean beef/lamb
  
• 1 bulb of garlic, chopped and fried until golden brown, leave aside
• Rice flour 1 1/2 cups
  
• 2 large free range eggs
  

I did a bit of research on bergedil before launching into my first attempt. Some version indicates chopped celery or parsley, shallots and garlic.  I decided to round up a simpler combination as shown  above.

Corned beef is always used by an Indonesian lady who is A’s family member. It is more flavourful I thought compared to minced beef.  I have always been an avid fan of her authentic Indonesian home cooking. Too bad now I am away, hopefully by end of this year, get to be away from Dublin and indulge in her cooking again.

Preparation

• First, peel and boil the potatoes in salted water.
• When they are cooked, drain, then mash them up in a deep bowl.
• Toss in chopped and pan fried garlic followed by corn beef. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mash again until the ingredients are mixed evenly with the potatoes.
• When the starch mix is done, roll it into a size of a scallop. Pat them around with rice flour evenly, set aside.

• Heat up a  deep pan filled half way up with oil, so long the amount of oil is  enough to cover the depth of the potato balls.
• When the oil starts to smoke, dip the floured starch balls into a bowl of beaten eggs then lower it gently into the      hot oil.
• I used a pair of chopsticks to manoeuvre the operation, any utensils should be fine. When both sides are golden     brown or brownier, lift it up and lower it into a plate covered up with kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil.

Serve it warm with chilli sauce.

I made them in a huge batch, so the leftover from dinner could be frozen and used for other time. I mixed in grated cheddar in the last batch just to try out. Pretty good too.

Next up, gnocchi.