Recipe

Potato Pancakes with Crispy Chorizo, Pear, and Cream

Potato Pancakes with Crispy Chorizo, Pear, and Cream

Photo by arielleclementine

  • This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best One-Bite Party Snack
  • Chef

    arielleclementine's Notes: Part latke, part Spanish tortilla, these one-bite snacks meet my criteria for good party fare: the pork fat + starch = universal crowd pleaser, the preparation is easy, and best yet, all the...

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Makes 24 small latkes

  1. Make the pear sauce: put the diced pear in a small frying pan along with a couple of tablespoons of water. Cover, set over medium heat, and cook until a knife inserted into a pear cube slides out easily, about 5 minutes. Puree the cooked pear with a food mill or mash it with a potato masher. Set aside.

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  2. Fry the chorizo and make the chorizo oil: Heat the olive oil in a skillet (cast iron if you've got one) over medium heat. Add the diced chorizo and cook, stirring frequently, until the chorizo is crispy. Remove the chorizo with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour the oil into a small heat safe bowl (you will use this to fry the potato pancakes).

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  3. Make the potato pancakes: put the grated onion and potatoes in a kitchen towel and squeeze the water out as best you can. Set it down for a few minutes and then squeeze the water out again. Put the drained potato and onion in a medium bowl, add the flour, egg, salt, and pepper, and mix with your hands until the flour and egg are evenly incorporated.

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  4. Measure two tablespoons of the chorizo-y olive oil into the skillet you used to fry the chorizo and heat over medium. Using a small portion scoop or rounded tablespoon, scoop bite-sized mounds of the potato pancake mixture into the skillet and flatten lightly. Cook six small pancakes at a time, flipping with a thin offset spatula, until golden and crispy on both sides. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with the remaining pancakes, adding an additional 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet for each new batch. Note: at this point you can keep the pancakes warm in a low oven for an hour or so, or you can refrigerate them on a baking sheet and then reheat in a 400 degree oven when your quests arrive.

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  5. Assemble the snacks: Top each potato pancake with a small dollop (about 1/2 tsp) of sour cream, a small dollop of the pear puree, a smattering of crispy chorizo cubes, and finally a few whole fresh thyme leaves. Enjoy!

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8 Comments on Potato Pancakes with Crispy Chorizo, Pear, and Cream

Reply

Made this yesterday to take to a party. Whole Foods was out of chorizo yesterday (go figure) so I went with andouille. First time for Latkes for me and my GF hand squeezed the water out of the potatto/onions which worked great.. For some reason the pear puree just did not have the sweetness balance to the andouille I needed (used comice) so we cheated with a touch of confectioner's sugar for balance. There were tons of food at the party but these appetizers were a hit and it was an empty plate. The biggest surprise for me was how many people commented on they had potato latkes as a child and this dish was a childhood comfort food for them. So the dish was a great memory. Great recipe.

Henrykiss Reply

oh man! you made my day! thanks so much for making my recipe. heartbreak about WF being out of chorizo, but andouille sounds like a good substitute. sorry the pear puree wasn't sweet enough- maybe i should change the recipe to specify ripe (not firm) pears? anyway- so thrilled that you liked it :)

Mrs Reply

Loving the salty-sweet-savory thing going on here! Pork is the meat of kings, so this would definitely fit into a Feast of the Epiphany party theme, too! http://www.weebls-stuff.com/songs/Pork/

Henrykiss Reply

tharnkee mrslarkin!! also that video is the most amazing/disturbing thing i've seen lately. my life is richer having seen it!

Profile Reply

And i love the word "chorizo-y"! What a nice combination of flavors!

Henrykiss Reply

thanks so much!

Shamrock-medal Reply

This sound amazing! Love the word sacrilicious, too.

Henrykiss Reply

thanks HLA!

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