Waffle Yourself Some Tiny Potatoes

A few evenings ago I scrolled upon a video of a woman yelling about a potato. I still don’t know who that woman was, but the points she made in her video are absolutely correct, the main one being that potatoes are always good and normal thing to eat. Since then, I have been craving potatoes, and last night I ate some.

Their preparation was simple: I bought a bag of small purple spuds and halved and cooked as many as would fit into the basket of my air fryer. This left me with seven small potatoes, which I decided to eat for breakfast this morning.

Turning them into home fries would have been a good choice, but I did not feel like cubing or frying. No. I felt like nuking and smashing. So I microwaved the little spuds until they were soft, coated them in a thin sheen of bacon grease, and flattened them between the hot and mighty plates of my waffle iron. Much like any good-for-waffling food, the small waffled potatoes came out crispy and divot-ed. The extra texture made them grippy and scoopy—perfect for dipping in sour cream (or crème fraîche) and wiping up sauces (or egg yolk). As I mentioned earlier, there is an extra, pre-waffling step involved here, but it’s only a bit of microwaving.

To make waffled tiny potatoes, you will need:

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• some tiny potatoes (as many as you like)

• some sort of cooking fat (I used bacon grease)

Place the potatoes in a microwave safe bowl or container and cover loosely. You can use plastic wrap (and make a tiny vent with a paring knife), or you can place whatever lid the container came with on top (but do not snap it shut). Microwave until the potatoes are completely soft—usually between 4-7 minutes, depending on their size. Remove from the microwave and uncover to let excess moisture evaporate. If you see some water pooling, simply wipe it out with a paper towel. Spoon on a little bacon grease (or some other cooking fat), 1/2 a teaspoon at a time, until the potatoes are coated.

Heat your waffle iron as hot as it will go and add the potatoes. Using a dish towel or pot holder to protect your hand from the hot metal, smash down on the top of the waffle maker to flatten the little guys. Cook until they are crunchy on the outside—about 2 minutes—then remove from the waffle iron and season with salt (and pepper if you like). Serve with runny eggs or some sort of dipping sauce.