jalapeno rosemary potato fritters

Crunchy fried snacks are awesome. There is no dispute about this in my world. However, for the most part, I have been happy to sit back and relax as a paying customer while someone else prepares my crunchy fried snacks for me.

In an uncharacteristic move, however, I've recently taken to making my own crunchy fried snacks at home. Yes, I am still not fond of using and discarding all that oil. Yes, I still dislike the eau de grease that lingers in my kitchen and on me after the event.

But the rewards of taking things into my own hands are wonderful; it means I can bring my very own crunchy fried snack ideas into fruition. Take today's post subject as an example. I can't get these vegan and gluten-free jalapeno rosemary potato fritters at my local takeaway, but I can sure make them at home. And ain't that grand?

vegan, gluten-free jalapeno rosemary potato fritters.

jalapeno rosemary potato fritters (makes 12 fritters, serves 2 as a snack)

2 medium potatoes (approx. 300g or 2/3 pound)
1 - 2 fresh jalapeno chillies (may be substituted with other types of chilli pepper)
1 sprig rosemary
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup rice flour
oil, for frying

Prepping the ingredients...

Peel and shred the potatoes. Lightly rinse in cold water, then squeeze out excess water (but keep in mind that a little moisture is fine, and can actually help adherence when coating with rice flour) and set aside in a bowl.
Slice chillies lengthwise. Discard the seeds if you like it mild. Chop the chillies into thin strips.
Strip rosemary leaves from the sprig. You may leave them whole or roughly chop them.
Mince the garlic.
Toss together shredded potatoes, chilli, rosemary leaves, garlic, vinegar and sea salt.
Mix in rice flour and continue tossing until well combined.

Now the frying!

Prepare a pan or skillet for frying. Pour in enough oil (I used macadamia oil, but any oil with a high smoke point will do) to fill it up to between 2 - 3 cm, or 1 inch, and let it heat up over a high flame for a minute.
For each potato fritter, drop a heaped tablespoon of mixture into the oil and slightly loosen and flatten it to a more uniform thickness. The bottom of the fritter will cook faster, so turn it over once halfway through.
Fry until the fritter takes on a crispy golden appearance and starts to brown a little at the edges on both sides. I fried my fritters one at a time, but if you have a large skillet and deft hands, you could probably do a few at a time.

Drain your jalapeno rosemary potato fritters on paper towels, then serve on a plate while they're hot and crunchy. Enjoy these little bundles of joy with an extra sprinkle of salt and perhaps some freshly ground black pepper. Throw in a dollop of sour cream or yoghurt for good measure. Oh... and you know what else will go with this? A cold beer. Oh yes. Now that would be very nice indeed.

a stack of rosemary jalapeno potato fritters, anyone?