You can find truffle mac n’ cheese, truffle fries, truffle pizza, truffle comfort-food-everything. So why not truffle tater tots? Shockingly, that had never crossed this food-snob mind until a friend mentioned the genius idea for a dish over drinks (at Booker + Dax. Killer. Go. Now.) the other week. Why did we NOT think of that? When we did, we figured there had to be a recipe out there. Epicurious to the rescue! So if you can get your tot-greased hands on some black truffles, knock yourself out. Truffle coma?
Home-style Tater Tots with Truffles
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus additional for coating
2 large eggs
1 1/4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch cubs
2 teaspoons black truffle, finely chopped
2 teaspoons white truffle oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
vegetable oil, for deep frying
Bring first three ingredients to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Add 1 cup flour; stir over medium-high heat until mixture pulls away from edges of the pan, about 1 minute. Transfer to medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat dough for 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between additions. Measure 1 1/2 cups dough and reserve. Discard remaining dough.
Place potatoes in medium saucepan. Add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Boil until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain. Press potatoes through ricer or food mill into large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups reserved dough, chopped truffle, truffle oil, salt, and white pepper. Using electric mixer, beat dough on low speed to blend.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer dough to pastry bag fitted with 3/4-inch-diameter plain tip. Pipe dough into logs onto prepared sheet. Freeze until firm but not frozen, about 1 hour. Cut logs into 1 1/4-inch-long pieces. Toss in flour, return to sheet, cover, and freeze completely. Do ahead. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Store in airtight container. Keep frozen.)
Pour enough oil into large saucepan to measure depth of 2 inches. Heat oil to 350 degrees F. Working in batches, cook frozen potato pieces until cooked through and gold brown, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with salt and serve.
