GF DF NF V

My son christened these little beauties “Knuckle Cakes” because he said the bumps and indentations made on them by our sandwich press reminded him of the pattern of his knuckles. You could call them what they are – potato and rice cakes made in a sandwich press. Or you could give them a rather long label based on what goes through my head when I make them – relatively easy, well-received by the kids and a tasty alternative to toast when you want something a bit different.

The version here is plain – feel free to mix it up with whatever seasonings you like. Or just pile the toppings high and let the cakes be merely a carrier for other deliciousness. This recipe makes 10 cakes. They should be eaten warm or frozen for future use. If you freeze them, you can defrost them in a hot sandwich press in the same way that they are cooked. I suspect that you could also fry them in a frying pan to cook them, but I prefer the sandwich press for these as I don’t much enjoy the greasiness of standing over a hot frying pan.

As usual, the measurements below are based on a 250 ml cup as equal to 1 cup. For more accurate measuring, measure the flour by spooning it into the cup and then levelling it off with the back of a knife, rather than scooping the flour directly into the cup. To reduce the cost of this dish, try grinding your own rice flour in a home mill or with a high speed blender or coffee or spice grinder.

What you need:

750 grams of floury potatoes (skin on), washed and cut into cubes about 2 cm in each dimension

2 cups of brown rice flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of baking powder (optional – this just makes the cakes a little lighter)

What to do:

1. Boil the potato cubes in boiling water in a saucepan until soft and cooked.

2. Once cooked, drain the water from the potato cubes in the saucepan and either leave to cool a little or rinse with cold water until only slightly warm before proceeding to the next step.

3. Once ready to proceed, turn on a sandwich press to preheat while you make the dough.

4. Using a food processor or handheld blender, puree the cooked potato to a smooth paste.

5. In a large bowl, mix together the pureed potato, brown rice flour, salt and baking powder (if using) to make a smooth dough.

6. Divide the dough into 10 equal balls (each ball will need about 1/3 cup of dough) and cook in batches in the preheated sandwich press. To cook the balls, place a few on the bottom half of the sandwich press, leaving at least 5 centimetres of space around each ball. Put down the lid of the sandwich press, pressing down gently to flatten each ball into a cake (this is why you need to leave space around each ball). Leave to cook in the sandwich press with the lid on until the cakes are golden brown all over and cooked through.

7. Once cooked, remove the cakes from the sandwich press and repeat the process with more balls of dough until they are all cooked.

8. Once all the cakes are cooked, serve as desired (or cool and freeze for later use) and enjoy!