Homemade truffle tots! Crispy on the outside and soft n’ chewy on the inside!

There's something about food from your childhood, in addition to anything fried that tastes so damn good and comforting. Growing up, we always had our freezer stashed with all sorts of frozen foods like tater tots, hash browns, and cajun curly fries. Clearly a big fan of potatoes cooked in any way, shape or form still to this day, and 10x more while pregnant.

While freezer foods are always good to have on hand for simplicity + convenience, sometimes you just gotta have the made from scratch version, and these do not disappoint! Also, I'm betting these will be kid friendly later down the road. Even better you can make a big ol' batch and freeze 'em and reheat in the oven...that’s if you don’t devour them all in one sitting.

That said, these were inspired by a dinner outing a few weeks ago where we got 1 order of truffle tots as an app to share — let’s just say this hungry mama could’ve devoured all of them herself. So I made it a project to make my own from scratch (recipe adapted by Damn Delicious) and you can bet times a million, I will be making these quite often from here on out.

Truffle Tots

Yields: 4-6 servings | Total prep time: 25 minutes | Cook time: 20 minutes | Total time: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (or gluten free)

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

• Kosher salt (or truffle salt) to taste

• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 1 tablespoon grated parmesan (or sub with nutritional yeast), optional

• 1 cup avocado oil

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place potatoes in a large pan and cover with 1 inch of cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until parboiled, about 6-7 minutes. Drain well and let cool.

2. Using a box grater, finely shred potatoes. Using a paper towels or a cheese cloth, drain potatoes completely, removing as much water as possible.

3. Transfer potatoes to a large bowl. Stir in flour, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano; season with truffle salt (or regular salt) and pepper, to taste. The mixture should be workable but dry.

4. Form potatoes into tots. Place a large sheet of parchment paper on a flat surface. Divide the potato mixture into 4. Form the divvied potato mixture into a long log, about 1 inch thick. Lightly flour your hands and use the parchment paper to tightly roll into a well formed log (as if you were rolling sushi). Repeat this process until you have about 4 logs, and then slice into 1 inch pieces.

5. Heat avocado oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat.

6. Add tots to the skillet, 6 to 10 at a time, and cook until evenly golden and crispy, flipping halfway through if needed for about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate or brown bag.

7. Garnish with parsley or green onion and serve immediately with a side of ketchup.