Onion-Potato Cake

What do you do with leftover mashed potatoes?

I know, it's never been a big problem around here either . . .

I love potato casseroles but frankly I get a little tired of all that peeling and boiling just to start the recipe! Through poor planning and illness we ended up with a full two cups of leftover mashed potatoes the other evening. So I decided to try something different with them. A melding of two recipes that I love but both of which kill me to make.

Here's my potatoes! Can I make a confession . . .

They were instant. Are you calculating the possibilities?

Here's the onion! This is experimental so we're working in small quantities here. Just use one.

Slice it up!

Now I melted up a couple of tablespoons of butter in a 10 inch skillet. I was using medium high heat.

See, the butter is even browning a little.

Now a good sprinkle of salt.

Let's slice up a couple of cloves of garlic and add them to the mix for complexity! You like complexity . . . right?

Throw them in and give everything a stir! We're not really looking for a slow process here.

It's more of a stir fry! Quick, quick, quick

They're more char-grilled than carmelized. I want to be encountering crispy bits of chewy onion in my potatoes.

Throw them on your cold potatoes! They'll get friendly really quick.

Now for a little tad of mustard. Mustard and potatoes go together after all!  What? Haven't you ever had potato salad?

Now for a touch more fresh garlic. It'll add another layer of flavor. It's not been browned in butter after all.

More onion! Please note I did say it was an Onion-Potato Casserole. They're the star! Slice them up, greens, and all.

Now since this is a cake, let's throw in a couple of eggs. They'll make things poof!

Do you have the thyme? . . . giggle . . .

My thyme has come . . . in . . . giggle . . .

I'm putting in a teaspoon of the fresh stuff but any green herb would do. You could even stick to parsley.

Mix it up! I used my hand mixer because I've been baking all morning! My poor little arms are tired . . .

I have no doubt if you try this you'll get a different consistency than me! It just doesn't matter. If it's creamier you'll get a lighter, fluffier, more souffle like dish. If it's denser it'll be . . . a casserole. Feel free to adjust the consistency with a little broth or milk or instant potato flakes!

Now, for the question of salt. I assume you salted your potatoes when you mashed them. I added a little more to the onion and frankly that should be good for most people. I felt the need to add a little extra because I had made the potatoes to accompany a very rich, and flavorful gravy. Don't be like me!

I was torn by a desire for dairy in here. I knew it'd be fine without it but . . . I wanted a little more . . . a little bit of umami flavor. Parmesan cheese will work! Just a smidge . . .

I oiled up some ramekins and divided up my batter. There was about 1/2 a cup in each one. How did that happen? I started with 2 cups of potatoes and then I added and added and there still was 2 cups of potatoes . . . hmm . . . teaches me to measure!

Then I decided some more Parmesan would be pretty on top. But so would crackers, or bread crumbs, or crushed potato chips. Then I threw them in a nice hot 400 deg. oven for about 30 minutes.

Oh, they're beauties!

It's all fluffy inside!

It's creamy and warm. You can taste all the different flavors onions can give you. The green onion provided bright, strong, vegetal qualities to the party. The pan grilled onions added sweetness and bitterness. The thyme, oh the thyme, if I only had the thyme to tell you about the thyme . . . giggle . . . it's herbaceousness compliments everything well. I can't get over how creamy they've become. Just like a good mashed potato should be!

If you have any sort of fondness for onions I would make a few extra mashed potatoes the next time you're peeling!

Onion-Potato Cake
serves 4

2 cups mashed potatoes
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 Tbsp butter
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 eggs
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
2-3 green onions, sliced
1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 deg. F.

Put potatoes in mixing bowl. Slice 2 of the cloves of garlic. Heat butter in 10 inch skillet over medium high heat until melted. Add onion and sliced garlic to pan. Sprinkle lightly with salt to help onion break down. Cook quickly until they're limp and have lots of brown spots. Remove pan from heat if they seem to be burning. Add onion mixture to potatoes.

Mince remaining clove of garlic and add it to the potatoes. Add remaining ingredients to the potatoes and mix well. Divide mixture between four greased 6 oz. ramekins. You could also put it in muffin tins or other small baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 20-30 minutes until puffed and golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out dry or with a few solid "crumbs" sticking to it.

If you doubled this recipe it could easily fit in a 6 cup baking dish. Bake 30-40 minutes until puffed, golden brown, and passes the "toothpick test."