Sweet Potato Tots with a Lime Mustard Dipping Sauce

It seems like a very long time ago that I had my first freshly made Sweet Potato Tater Tots.  It was at the Tripel in Playa Del Rey. Top Chef finalist Chef Brooke Williamson made them & my taste buds fell in love.  I may have had them at every visit since.  But I left the west coast beach state & moved east to a country side of lakes & docks.  With my taste buds' memory fading, those sweet potato tots were becoming a simple romantic craving.  I remember the sweetness, the crunch, the steamy fluffy center... A treat I needed to have again.

 As far as the sweet potatoes weigh in, they are incredibly healthy.  I tried to keep it that way.  I experimented with healthy ways such as eggs being the binder & baked with a panko crumbs for the crust as opposed to frying the tots in oil.  I baked the potatoes whole.  I tried shredding the flesh before a quick par-boil.  I may not remember the Tripel's Tots exactly, but I remembered how I wiped a bit of drool from the corner of mouth every time I put in my order... & this wasn't it.  So I went old school & did them as simple as possible.  Tater Tots need to be created from a tiny dice of potato.  They also need to be crispy on the outside & fluffy on the inside.  The Tater Tots more mature & popular brother, the French Fry, taught me a few things about cooking potatoes.  To get a crunchy french fry you need to cook it twice; once at a lower temperature & then fried at a higher temp to crisp things up.  Baking would dry the potato out too much & boiling the potato after it was cut would add too much water to the mix. 

I decided to boil the potato whole until al dante.  Starting in cold salty water...

I left it to boil until still firm in the center but easily stabbed; about 6 minutes. 

 

When the potato has cooled, it can be easily peeled & chopped. 

The food processor makes exactly the texture I'm looking for with only a dozen quick pulses.

 

Now with the texture & first cook done, I needed to season & bind this dice together to form a tot.  I tried different spices but all competed with the sweetness of the potato.  Keeping it simple with the tot was important to be able to add flavor packed condiments.

Flour to bind, fresh cracked pepper for spice, & enough salt to bring out the flavors.

Mix until combined.

I used a 1/3 of a cup of flour & a bit more than a 1/4 tsp black pepper, & salt to taste per potato.

I made bit size logs plenty big enough to dip but small enough to match the shape & size of my childhood memories.  I found that keeping my hands damp the same way I do for meatballs help the logs take shape.

I opt for a deep frier so I don't have to regulate the temperature of a spitting oil bath.  With the temperature set at a stable 350º F, these golden tots will be crunchy golden on the outside & hot & fluffy on the inside.  Sprinkle with a bit of flake salt.

These I happened to serve with a delicious Lime Mustard Dipping Sauce that was inspired by another great LA restaurant, Son of a Gun, but a bit more limey & a bit of fresh dill.

Mix together the following, & adjust to taste:

• 1/2 cup vegenaise (oh so good! but you can always substitute real mayonaise if you like)
• 2 Tbl spicy brown mustard (with horseradish if you like a bit more kick)
• the juice from 1 lime
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp palm sugar (brown sugar will work great too)
• 1/2 tsp English mustard powder
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• hot sauce to taste
• salt
• fresh dill  (thyme would also work)

Now I'm wondering if they can be frozen & reheated in the oven to have as a traveling appetizer.  Or try it with a sprinkling of truffle salt & a less aggressive dipping sauce.  Either way I now have my fresh Sweet Potato Tater Tot crazing completely fixed!