I started blogging just two months ago; about a month ago during one of my regular food blog lurking sessions, I came across the event Jihva for POTATO . This was the first time I was even hearing about a blog event, and I wanted to participate so badly. But I was kind of lost, potatoes are a filler ingredient in most of my dishes, so I decided to wait for another month to participate in a JFI event. But last night suddenly I had an epiphany- Potato shooters! I had this in a restaurant a few years ago, it was so good, I made it for a party afterwards, and it was a big hit.

The idea is to serve creamy mashed potatoes on top of a layer of spiced crab in a shot glass. This is a great pre-appetizer, you can use it as an amuse-bouche, guests can just shoot it down in one shot. You can prepare the mashed potatoes and crab meat any style you like. If you don’t eat crab, use spiced ground chicken or prawns. I used crab meat, and I gave both the potatoes and crab a slight Indian flavor to get that extra kick.

Here is my recipe:


Creamy Mashed Potatoes


Ingredients

  1. 2 large Russell potatoes - skinned and cubed
  2. 2 cloves of garlic cloves crushed
  3. 2 dry red chilies , split in half
  4. a few pods of coriander
  5. 1 cardamom
  6. 2 cloves
  7. 1 bay leaf
  8. 1/2 tbsp of butter
  9. 1 cup of cream.

Method

Boil the cubed potatoes in a sauce pan till tender and ready to be mashed. Drain the extra water and transfer the potatoes to a large bowl. Mash the potatoes with hand or a heavy wooden spoon.

In the mean time heat up butter in a pan and add the crushed garlic, chilies, coriander, cardamom, cloves and bay leaves. Reduce the heat and stir in the cream and heat up the mixture in low heat till the cream absorbs some of the spices.

Pass the cream through a fine sieve into the bowl of mashed potatoes and mix well. Season well with salt and pepper


Spiced Crabmeat

Ingredients

  1. Lump Crab meat - 1/4 lb
  2. 1 small shallot diced
  3. oil - 1 tsp
  4. curry powder - 1/4 tbsp
  5. salt for taste


Method

Heat up oil in a pan, add the diced shallot, stir for 30 seconds. Add the curry powder and salt and stir for another 30 seconds. Then add the crab meat , mix well to break up some of the lumps and cook for 2 minutes.

To Serve

Take a shot glass. Add a little bit of the crab mixture to the bottom, pour the warm mashed potatoes on top to fill the glass. Garnish with chopped chives or crispy bacon bits.

For those who are health concious, substitute butter with any healthy oil, and use non-fat milk instead of cream.

There it is. This is my entry for the Jihva for Potato event hosted by Vaishali on Happy Burp

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Comments

7 Responses to “Mashed Potato Shooters with Spiced Crab Meat”

  1. Manisha on March 1st, 2007 10:03 am

    This sounds exotic! I can already see so many possibilities! Thanks!

    I’m already loving your blog!

  2. bee (jugalbandi.info) on March 1st, 2007 1:03 pm

    you call a dish with all that butter and cream ‘amuse-bouche’?
    ;-)))

    it’s gotta be good.

  3. Sig on March 1st, 2007 5:15 pm

    Manisha, thanks :). I just checked out your blog for the first time, the Conversations piece cracked me up. Will go through it more in detail later.

    Bee, yeah, it is sinful, but in a tequila glass. Anything in that small quanitiy can amuse anyone’s bouche. ;). BTW, I’m a big fan of your blog.

  4. Anita on March 4th, 2007 1:09 pm

    This is very exotic (while I try to figure what the heck ‘amuse-bouche’ is. Pardon my French :) )
    But then I am a sucker for egg-sotic stuff!

  5. Sig on March 5th, 2007 4:19 pm

    Anita :) thanks for dropping by.

    From Wikipedia:
    Amuse-bouches are tiny bite-sized morsels served before the hors d’œuvre or first course of a meal. These, often accompanied by a proper complementing wine, are served as an excitement of taste buds to both prepare the guest for the meal and to offer a glimpse into the chef’s approach to cooking.

    The word is French, literally translated to “mouth amuser” [for bouche = mouth; amuser = to amuse, to please].

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amuse-bouche

  6. Nandita on March 6th, 2007 6:36 am

    Sig,
    This is exotica indeed and the humble potato cant get any more exotic. Though i’m a vegetarian, im sure some chopped sauteed mushies can do down there instead of the crabs…
    This could be the most unique potato recipe in the round up!

  7. Sig on March 6th, 2007 6:54 am

    Thanks Nandita :)
    Yeah, good idea, I think that will make a nice combo as well. Let me know how that turns out if you ever try it, I’m so bad at Veg cooking, so always looking for some new recipes.

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