Pan-fried potato and beef patties, crisp outside and soft inside
Patties made with mashed boiled potatoes and ground meat, pecorino, Parmesan, garlic and parsley, coated in breadcrumbs and pan-fried flattened in a drizzle of olive oil.
Are you after meatballs that are a bit different, with no tomato sauce and no deep frying? Then these potato and meat patties are for you: you flatten them slightly before they hit the pan, they take on a golden breadcrumb crust and they stay wonderfully soft inside thanks to the boiled potatoes.
The potatoes bring a double advantage. They bind the meat without any bread soaked in milk, and they hold moisture during cooking, so the patties do not dry out even if you leave them on the heat a minute too long. Pecorino and Parmesan together give savouriness and depth, while finely chopped garlic and parsley lift the whole thing.
There are at least three practical advantages: you make them with what is already in the house, they cook in a drizzle of oil rather than a pan of it, and they travel beautifully in a lunchbox, good even at room temperature.
The trick that really matters is about the potatoes: rice them while they are still hot and let them breathe for a few minutes before the meat goes in. A mixture that is too wet is the number one reason patties split open in the pan.
They keep for two days in a sealed container in the fridge and reheat in a pan, never in the microwave, or the coating loses its crunch. Ready? Let’s get started with these potato and beef patties.
Steps
- Boil the potatoes whole and unpeeled, starting in cold salted water: from the moment it boils count 30 to 35 minutes, until a fork slides all the way to the centre without resistance.
- Peel them while still hot and push them through a ricer straight into a wide bowl, then let them steam off in the open air for 5 minutes: the moisture escaping now is moisture you will not have to fight later.
- Chop the garlic and the parsley very finely, so the garlic spreads evenly instead of leaving sharp pieces you bite into.
- Add the raw ground meat, the pecorino, the Parmesan, the garlic, the parsley, salt and a grind of pepper to the potatoes.
- Work the mixture with your hands only until it comes together: overworking tightens the meat fibres and gives you rubbery patties instead of tender ones.
- Shape balls of about 50 g and flatten them with your palm to roughly one and a half centimetres thick. The flat shape lets the raw meat cook through in the same time the coating takes to turn golden.
- Press each patty into the breadcrumbs on both sides and around the rim as well, so the crust is unbroken and the patties hold together in the pan.
- Heat a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a large non-stick pan over medium heat and lay the patties in without overlapping, leaving space between them.
- Cook for 4 to 5 minutes per side without shuffling them around: the crust needs to form and release from the pan on its own before you turn them, otherwise the coating stays stuck to the bottom.
- Check one by cutting it in half, the meat should no longer be pink in the centre. Drain briefly on kitchen paper and serve hot.
- 1 Boil them unpeeled From cold water, 30 to 35 minutes
- 2 Mash them hot Then 5 minutes in the air to dry out
- 3 Mix lightly Raw meat, pecorino, Parmesan, garlic and parsley
- 4 Shape and flatten 50 g balls, one and a half centimetres thick
- 5 Coat in breadcrumbs Press both sides and the rim
- 6 Cook in a drizzle of oil 4 to 5 minutes per side, undisturbed
Moisture is the thread running through every step: potatoes boiled in their skins and steamed off while hot give you a firm mixture, and that is exactly what lets you flatten the patties in the pan without watching them fall apart.
Helpful tips
If the mixture is too soft to handle, add an egg and two tablespoons of breadcrumbs; if it is dry and crumbles instead, a tablespoon of oil is enough.
With leftover boiled potatoes from the day before the whole recipe drops to 30 minutes: take them out of the fridge in advance, because cold potato does not blend in properly.
For a lighter version bake them at 200°C (400°F) for 20 minutes on baking paper, turning them halfway and brushing them with a little oil.
They freeze raw and already breaded, spaced out on a tray: cook them straight from frozen over lower heat, adding a few extra minutes per side.
Average nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 535 kcal
- Carbohydrates
- 38.0 g
- Sugars
- 3.0 g
- Protein
- 31.0 g
- Fat
- 29.0 g
- Saturated fat
- 11.0 g
- Fiber
- 3.0 g
- Sodium
- 760 mg
You might also like
Related recipes
Selected based on the same practical features as this recipe.
Super soft olive oil bread rolls, just like the bakery
Soft Italian olive oil rolls made with just six ingredients and a double rise: a thin golden crust, a white cottony crumb and no butter, milk or eggs at all.
Baked aubergine rounds with cherry tomatoes, served cold
Aubergine rounds baked until meltingly soft, then cooled and topped with finely chopped cherry tomatoes, olive oil and basil. A very simple summer cold dish.
Baked potato and pumpkin gratin with crisp golden edges
A baked potato and pumpkin gratin with thin slices stacked upright, seasoned with parmesan and rosemary and roasted until the top edges turn crisp and golden.