Enter our worldwide giveaway to win a copy of Croatian Savoury Baking: 50 Traditional Recipes for Bread, Burek, Pies and Pastries by Andrea Pisac.

Croatian Savoury Baking: 50 Traditional Recipes for Bread, Burek, Pies and Pastries by Andrea Pisac, the author of Croatian Desserts: 50 Authentic Recipes to Make at Home, (see review of latter title) and Croatian Classics: 100 Savoury Dishes to Delight Your Family, is another spectacular collection of recipes from the talented blogger. For a look inside this uniquely beautiful cookbook see the ordering page on the author's site. (You may also use our BUY BOOK button which goes directly to the specific page for each of her titles. Currently, she is offering 10 percent off your first order and has cookbook bundles available at discounted prices.

Andrea has received many awards for promoting Croatia and its cultural heritage worldwide. On her original website, she has written many articles on culture, travel and more.

Being a self-proclaimed perfectionist means the recipes in her books are well tested and approachable. Recipes in this latest title include: Phyllo pastry from scratch, Pie bread with walnuts (a cross between a savoury pie and shortbread), Crispy fritters from Sinj, Thin bagels with sesame seeds, and Love bird buns.

Andrea was kind enough to share a recipe with our Members today:

Potato puffs
Pogačice s krumpirom
paw·guh·tchee·tseh s kroom peer·awm

The Story:

If you love zero-waste recipes, potato puffs should be on your list of favourite snacks. Whenever you have leftover mashed potatoes, add it to the pogačice dough to make it soft and airy. Once your family falls for them, you’ll be boiling a fresh batch of potatoes to use in the recipe. You might think that this starchy vegetable has no place in the company of carb-loaded flour. But it actually gives the puffs a punchy bounce. As the dough gets lighter, the flavour becomes fuller and more robust. This is because the potato and black pepper are a match made in heaven. So, keep turning your pepper grinder way over your comfort zone. Most of its kick will get lost in the baking, leaving you with a snack that is just right for a grown-up palate.

Two or three bites in, and your tongue will begin to dance. This mild peppery sting should be neutralised with a refreshing alcoholic beverage. A cold bubbly spritzer is the answer.

Prep: 40 mins * Rest: 1 hr * Bake: 25 mins * Total: 2 hrs * Yields: 12 puffs * Serves: 6

Tools: Potato masher, flour sifter, cling film (plastic wrap), rolling pin, round cookie cutter (7 cm [2.7 in] wide), baking (parchment) paper, baking tray, pastry brush.

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 250 g (1 ½ cups) boiled and mashed potato
  • 12 g (2 tsp) salt, divided
  • 230 g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
  • 12 g (¾ tbsp) baking powder
  • 2 g (½ tsp) black pepper
  • 100 g (½ cup) unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1 egg, whisked

For the topping:

  • 1 egg yolk, whisked
  • 10 g (2 tsp) coarse salt

Method:

Peel, wash and cube the potatoes. Cover them with cold water, add 1 tsp of salt and boil them until they are fork-tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and mash them. Let them cool to room temperature.

Sift the flour into a bowl. Add the baking powder, the remaining tsp of salt, and black pepper. Whisk to blend evenly.

Rub the cubed butter into the flour mixture until it becomes crumbly. Add mashed potatoes and the whisked egg.

Knead the dough for a minute or two until it becomes a smooth ball. Wrap it in cling film and place it in the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F).

Flour the work surface and roll out the dough to 1.5 cm (0.5 in) thickness. Dip the cookie cutter into flour and cut out the puffs.

Gather the dough scraps, knead them into a ball and roll it out again. Cut out the puffs. Don't knead the leftover dough again because it will turn tough; shape it by hand in any form.

Place all of the puffs on a baking tray lined with baking paper. You don’t need to leave much space between them. They get higher but not wider.

Brush each puff with egg yolk wash and sprinkle with a little coarse salt.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the puffs turn golden brown. Cool to room temperature and eat on the same day.

Chefs tip: You can make these potato puffs from leftover mashed potatoes. If they are quite creamy, you'll need to use extra flour to reach the point when the dough doesn’t stick to your fingers.

Special thanks to the author for offering a copy of this title in our promotion open worldwide. Entry options include answering the following question in the comments section of this blog post.

Which recipe on Andrea's website would you like to make?

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