Quasi Tater Tots

I made two batches of these mini potato kugels well before Passover, froze them on a half sheet pan, and stored them in a plastic bag. And last night every single one of them was eaten. We had 20 at our Seder table, and now everyone has gone home and the house is quiet again. I have stacks of plates and serving dishes to put away, and sheets and towels to throw in the laundry, but right now I’m too, too tired!

But this column was in the Berkshire Eagle last week, just in time to make for Seder, or over the week of Passover for people who are observing. And even if you don’t observe, these mini potato kugels are good any time!

TOO GOOD TO PASS OVER

by Elizabeth Baer

It should come as no surprise to anyone that my favorite holidays focus on food! It’s pretty much a given that Thanksgiving and Passover are my domain. In fact, the year we needed to shift the location of Thanksgiving to Michigan, our kids gave me a gift of a very large, very high-quality cooler so I could make and freeze most of the meal at home and drive it out there. Sometimes when I tell this story, people recoil and say, “That’s not a very nice gift,” at which point I laugh and reply, “You must not know me very well!”

Both last year and this year we’ve had a very full table for Passover Seder, so much so that I print menus for everyone to circle what they want because there’s no room for a buffet! And also, because we have our two granddaughters in attendance – now 20 months and almost 3 years old – I have been been making mini potato kugels in mini muffin pans so the girls can pick them up and eat them easily.

During the holiday of Passover (seven or eight days depending on one’s observance), it is forbidden to eat any leavened products made from wheat, barley, rye, oats, or spelt, except for the unleavened matzoh that represents the bread that the Israelites took with them on their flight from Egypt, when they couldn’t take time for the dough to rise. Beyond this specific prohibition, customs and practice with regard to permissible foods vary depending on the community. Given this, potatoes get a workout in many homes during Passover.

These mini potato kugels follow the general form of a single potato kugel made in a baking dish, but I like to add a grated apple and a bit of maple syrup for a touch of sweetness. I also like to sauté the onions, so the flavor is not as sharp. The challenge, however, lies in getting these mini kugels out of the mini muffin pans. I hate to scratch my nice pans, and many cooking sprays are not kosher for Passover, so I have resorted to disposable foil pans for this holiday. I grease the wells of the pan, either with melted schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) or with olive oil, and I find food prep gloves incredibly helpful here, as well as when I mix the ingredients together and apportion it into the mini muffin tins.

The choice of schmaltz or olive oil – I’ve made both versions – takes into account another aspect of kosher practice, that you cannot eat meat and dairy products together. We do not keep kosher, but I wanted this recipe to have versions that could work for people who do. The olive oil version falls into the category of parve foods that are neutral and can be eaten with anything, while the schmaltz categorizes the other version as a meat food.

Although I created these specifically for the grandbabies at Passover, I already made two batches and froze them on a half sheet pan before putting them into a freezer bag because everyone at the table loves them as much as – if not more than – the babies do!

MINI POTATO KUGELS

Makes about 36

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 tablespoons melted schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) or olive oil, divided, plus more for greasing the pan

• ½ cup minced onion (1 small, about 3-4 ounces)

• 2 cups shredded potato (1 large or 2 small, about 10-12 ounces total)

• ½-¾ cup grated apple (1 medium, about 7-8 ounces)

• ⅓ cup matzoh meal

• 4 eggs, beaten

• 2 tablespoons real maple syrup

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a pinch

• Few grinds pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 375°F. If using disposable foil mini muffin trays, place on half sheet pans for stability. This recipe fills about 36 mini muffin wells. Grease the wells thoroughly as these have a tendency to stick. Cooking spray is fine if there are no issues with any of the ingredients, but you can also use olive oil or schmaltz, wiping it around completely with gloved fingers or paper towel.

Heat 2 tablespoons schmaltz or olive oil in a medium sauté pan until shimmering. Add the minced onion and a pinch of salt. Sauté until the onions are golden on the edges. Remove from the heat and add to a large bowl.

After shredding the potato (most easily done in a food processor), place the shredded potato in a clean dishtowel and wring out as much moisture as you can. Add to the bowl with the onion. Add the grated apple, matzoh meal, eggs, maple syrup, remaining 4 tablespoons schmaltz or olive oil, remaining teaspoon salt, and pepper. Mix to combine. This is easiest by hand using food prep gloves. Apportion the potato mixture among the wells of the muffin tins. The mixture should come about halfway up, but don’t worry if they are all exactly the same.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until tops are browned in spots. Allow to cool slightly before removing from the pans. These can be frozen in a single layer on a half sheet pan and then stored in a freezer bag. Reheat on a foil-lined half sheet pan in a 375°F oven until warm through, about 10-15 minutes.