We love tater tots as a quick go-to side dish for burgers. They’re convenient and delicious. But, the other day, we got to thinking. Why not make our own totally unprocessed/unpreserved version of tater tots? Yes, I realize these would not then be as “quick” a side dish if we did it that way. Anyway, as I was having that random morning musing, my wife came home from the local farm with a haul of sweet potatoes. Thinking back to our Sweet Potato Rösti recipe and how well the potatoes crisped up for that, and we decided we’d try making tater tots with sweet potatoes!
These little morsels were a big hit…crunchy on the outside, pillowy soft on the inside, and unabashedly orange! We chose a curried ketchup as the dipping sauce, and that worked nicely…but a regular ketchup, chipotle ketchup, or a maple aioli would really work well too depending on your mood!
Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Sweet Potatoes
- Salt
- Corn or Potato Starch
Method:
- Peel and grate your sweet potatoes (we suggest the shredding plate of your food processor, but a box grater will work too).
- Squeeze liquids out of your shredded sweet potatoes over the sink, and place in a large mixing bowl. Add in salt and a little corn or potato starch (we used 1 tablespoon for 3 sweet potatoes). Stir to combine, and let sit for a few minutes.
- Scoop a “tater tot” sized amount of shredded sweet potato, and squeeze over the sink again to remove excess liquids, and then form into your tater tot shape, and place on a plate. Keep doing this until all of your sweet potatoes become “raw tater tots.”
- Heat some oil in a heavy bottomed (we prefer cast iron for this) pan.
- Carefully place your tater tots into the pan, and fry until golden brown on the bottom. Then, flip, and cook the other sides until they are ready to go! As each finishes, remove and place on a paper towel to soak any excess oil.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
