PAPA'S PEPPER FRIED POTATOES WITH SPICY HOLLANDAISE SAUCE


Papa's Pepper Fried Potatoes with Spicy Hollandaise Sauce

(Courtesy of Spencer from @spencerthecook from Instagram ... )

Growing up in rural Virginia the are certain things that one must learn how to masterfully cook.  Fried potatoes are one of those things.  Having a beautiful daughter that is #glutenfree and has #downsyndrome that loves fried potatoes only made my quest for the perfect fried potatoes that much more important.  There are few things worse than looking forward to crispy fried potatoes for breakfast only to be served greasy, soft and mushy potatoes.  Well, I worked on an easy recipe for perfect fried potatoes that works EVERY time. It's easy, just par-bake them! I've paired that with my versatile spicy, rich, tangy, vibrant hollandaise sauce and it's a breakfast/brunch dish that is sure to please the eyes, and the taste buds!

Yields 4 Servings

For the Fried Potatoes:

5-6 Russet potatoes, scrubbed

2T Kosher Salt

1/4C Canola oil (For frying)

For the Spicy Hollandaise:

4 Egg Yolks

1T White Wine vinegar

1/2T Lemon juice

1/2C (1 Stick) Unsalted butter, melted

1/2t Salt

1/4t Granulated garlic

1/2t Onion powder

1t Papa's Pepper premium spice blend

Scallions for garnish

For the Spicy Hollandaise:

Place medium sauce pan with two inches of water over medium heat.  Water should simmer but not be at a heavy boil.

Place four egg yolks in a medium stainless steel bowl.  Add white wine vinegar and lemon juice and whisk vigorously until the yolk mixture has just about doubled in size and thickened slightly.

Place stainless steel bowl with yolk mixture on sauce pan with simmering water.  The bottom of the stainless steel bowl should NOT be touching the water!  Whisk the yolk mixture vigorously for about a minute, careful not to let the eggs get to hot and solidify.  Slowly drizzle in the melted butter while whisking vigorously at the same time.  Continue whisking until the sauce has thickened and almost doubled in size and then immediately remove bowl from sauce pan, add remaining spices and whisk.  If you leave the sauce over the simmering pan too long the sauce will "break".

This is a VERY versatile sauce and one the I would highly recommend mastering.  I have used this on everything from mashed potatoes to stuffed jalapenos and everything in between.  I truly think it's PERFECT with just about everything, including my crispy fried potatoes!

For the potatoes:

Potatoes can be baked a day in advance and then kept in fridge for up to three-four days for easy prep.  In all honesty, I usually double or triple this recipe for the potatoes and once baked, keep them in the fridge so they can be made in minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°

Cut the potatoes caré, or a large dice, roughly 3/4" cubes.  Yes, unless you perfectly block the potatoes there will be some smaller, rounded pieces.  That's fine, at least it is in our house.  As I cut the potatoes I place them in a large stainless steel bowl with cold water.  This accomplishes two things; it keeps the potatoes from oxidizing and turning brown and it also rinses some of the starch from the potatoes.  Once all the potatoes are cut, give them a good swirl in the cold water for a minute or two.  Drain potatoes thoroughly in a colander, return to stainless steel bowl and toss with Kosher Salt.  Spray a sheet pan with canola oil spray and dump potatoes evenly on sheet pan.  Bake in 350° oven for 45 minutes to an hour until potatoes are just barely cooked.

Remove potatoes and let them cool thoroughly.  Once cooled you can put them in an air tight container and store in fridge for next day or proceed.  I usually bake my potatoes the day before I'm going to use them for breakfast and keep them in the fridge overnight.

Pour Canola oil in large cast iron skillet or heavy bottom frying pan over high heat.  Once you see oil start to smoke, and not before because the oil must be HOT, carefully add pre-baked potatoes.  The oil might splatter a little so I tilt my pan slightly and start the potatoes on the "dry" side of the pan and then slowly lower the pan down flat again.  Let the potatoes fry for 4-5 minutes and then flip them around until all potatoes are golden brown.  Remove using slotted spoon to a stainless steel bowl lined with paper towels.  Salt and pepper taste.  Plate and carefully spoon spicy Hollandaise over crispy potatoes.

Garnish with scallions cut on a bias.

Serve hot.