Puffed or Souffle Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Peel the potatoes and cut the sides square to create an oval shape.
Slice them into 1/8-inch thick pieces, ensuring they are all the same size.
Soak the slices in cold water for 30 minutes, then dry them on a napkin.
Fry and puff
Fry the slices in moderately hot fat until soft but not colored.
Remove and drain on a sieve to cool.
Immerse the cooled slices in hot fat until they puff into balls.
Toss the basket and remove any that do not puff.
Serve
Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and serve on a napkin or as a garnish.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Starchy flesh that softens during the first fry and puffs into hollow balls in hot fat.
The step that matters
Immersing the cooled slices in hot fat to puff. The first fry only softens the slices without browning. Moisture trapped inside turns to steam in the second, hotter fat and inflates the slice. If the slices are wet or the fat is not hot enough, they will not puff.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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