Crab Tater Tots with Coriander Mayonnaise

If you have yet to visit Joanne of Eats Well with Others, go now! Yes, leave my blog and go now. She's an amazing cook, hilarious writer and effortless photographer (not to mention a medical student and distance runner!) I don't know how she does it but she must have the energy of 10 Energizer Bunnies! Not only are her recipes diverse in cuisines, but she never lets me down. This recipe is an excellent example.

Tater tots were something that my mom occasionally served us when we were growing up, kind of a guilty pleasure since they were a) frozen, b) obviously fried, and c) not too high on the nutritional scale. But they're soooo good! When I saw that Joanne had made a homemade version, with crab no less, I knew this recipe was high on the to do list!

Joanne is in love with Michael Symon and this is his version of homemade crab tater tots. Check out her post - her photos are so much more appetizing than mine! And browse her archives. You can never go wrong with whatever you pull out of her magic list of posts. Enjoy!

Crab Tater Tots with Coriander Mayonnaise

1 cup prepared mashed potatoes
9 oz crab meat
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons basil, shredded
1 egg
salt
pepper
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (Joanne used panko which look better, but I didn't have any)
oil for frying
coriander chutney
mayonnaise

Heat water and butter in small sauce pan until butter melts; add flour and stir until it all comes together in a ball and turn off heat. In large mixing bowl, combine butter and flour mixture with mashed potatoes (cooled to room temperature if just prepared) and blend well. Add crab and egg and blend well. Add basil and season with salt and pepper. Pour bread crumbs in shallow bowl and scoop out 1 teaspoon of potato crab mixture and roll into ball. Roll in bread crumbs and set aside to rest. Complete with remaining mixture. Heat oil in pan (at least 1/2 inch deep) over medium heat until you can smell the oil (about 7 minutes). Fry each tater tot until browned, about 3-4 minutes per side, remembering to allow the oil to reheat in between each batch. Drain on paper towels and salt. Serve with lemon or if using coriander chutney, mix equal parts of mayonnaise with chutney and serve as dipping sauce.

Hugs!

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