Mushroom Stuffed Potato Cakes

Does anyone else just really love food that is stuffed? Dumplings packed with tangy mushrooms, spring rolls filled with crunchy veg, pizza crust steaming with oozing cheese (ok that last one was gross even when I was eating cheese, but taste is a personal thing). Somehow it makes a dish more exciting when you have food INSIDE food. Except Turduckens. Shout out to that someone who always takes it too far.

I saw these potato cakes on instagram and instead of screenshotting them to my Must Make folder, I went straight home and made them – I was that excited. You should be too, because they totally lived up to the stuffed food hype.

Mushroom Stuffed Potato Cakes

Ingredients:

• 6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
• 200g mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• Palm sized portion of fresh rosemary & thyme, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup flour
• Olive oil and/or vegan margarine for frying
• Salt, pepper, white wine (optional) and any other seasoning of choice to taste
• 1 tsp mustard

Instructions:

1. Boil the potatoes until fully cooked.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, fry chopped onions and mushrooms in olive oil. Add fresh herbs, salt, pepper, a touch of white wine (optional) and any other seasoning of your choice.
3. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid evaporated. This will take about 15 minutes.
4. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them well and mash with fork or masher. Don’t use a food processor as it will make the potatoes watery. Season to taste with mustard, dried herbs and salt and allow to cool.
5. Once cool, add the flour to the mash and mix well – you can use your hands.
6. Take about 4 tablespoons of potato dough and hand roll into a shape (any shape!) that is big enough to fold over the filling – a bit like a Calzone or Cornish pasty. Place one big spoon of mushroom filling in the middle and roll the dough over to cover. Press flat to seal. The potato cakes that I saw were pretty round disks, but I’m a big believer in presentation coming second to keeping your filling from leaking out and these torpedoes did the job!
7. Once the potato cakes are assembled, fry them in a non-stick or griddle pan on medium heat using a combination of olive oil and vegan margarine (I know, but trust me, we’ve perfected the art of frying sticky things and you need marge or butter to prevent them falling apart). Fry for 5-10 minutes or until they are golden on each side.