Make Leftover Mashed Potatoes into Holiday Tapas

If you’re like my family, you have mashed potatoes at every holiday meal. They are a classic. We like to keep the skins on, then mash them with garlic, cream cheese, milk and butter to make them creamy and tangy…and delicious.

I wanted to find a way to make these favorite mashed potatoes into another dish, with a different flavor. I decided to use this Potato Pancakes with Applesauce recipe as a base, but replace the applesauce with a tapas-meets-middle-east tapenade. You can add diced leftover ham to the tapenade, or serve this alongside the ham. (And of course, you can also serve it with applesauce as in the original recipe – this would be great with ham too!)

For the tapenade, you’ll need:

• 1 jar Kalamata olives
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• orange zest + orange pieces from 1 orange
• 1/2 cup orange/tangerine juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• fresh basil, chopped
• salt & freshly ground pepper
• cooked ham, diced (optional)

Chop the olives and cut the orange pieces in half, then combine the rest of the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix. Set aside. Mold leftover mashed potatoes into golf-sized balls.

Pour enough cooking oil into a large skillet to cover bottom with thick film. Heat to very hot but not smoking, and drop potato balls in. Flatten immediately. Fry for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown; flip and brown other side, as shown above.

Drain on paper towels. Serve with tapenade (photo above). Or, try the original recipe and serve with applesauce and sour cream.