Easy Potato Scallops

In my opinion the best vegetable on earth is the humble potato
Its delicious, its easy to prepare and its simply a blank canvas for delicious recipes!

When it comes too cooking,i prefer old, tried and tested recipes
This recipe comes from my favorite cookbook, an old woman's weekly (cookbook, not magazine)

These are a delicious side dish, though quite unhealthy . A crisp, golden-brown batter and a soft, potato center
These do take a bit of time, so be prepared!

For these mouthwatering delights, yo will need...

Ingredients
Four medium old potatoes (they need to be slightly soft)
Two cups of SR flour
A pinch of salt
A pinch of black pepper
1 and 3/4 cups water
Enough oil to deep fry ( i use vegetable or canola)

Equipment
Sharp knife
Cutting board
Vegetable peeler
Mixing bowl
Large plate
Fork
Wooden spoon
A metal or glass dish, lined with napkins or waxed (baking) paper
Measuring cups and spoons
two clean tea-towels

The potatoes need to be slightly soft for scallops, so its great if you have some old ones
Take your potatoes, peel and rinse them

Then with a sharp knife, thinly slice them (no thicker then half a cm). If the potatoes slip around on the cutting board, you can cut a flat edge on them first .
Rinse them again, and set them aside (in a sink so they water doesn't run everywhere)

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and gradually add water, beating to remove any lumps (you may need more water)
You should have a thick batter, free of lumps. At this point, you can add additional flavorings, i use a pinch of "wedge sprinkle" also known as "all purpose seasoning". You might prefer a little chilli powder or chicken salt.

Get your potatoes and lay them on a clean tea towel  in a single layer. You may need to repeat this step if all the potatoes won't fit. Bunch another clean tea towel up and dab the potatoes to dry them.

One at a time, take the potatoes and cover in extra flour, shaking off excess. If you're short for time, put flour in a plastic freezer bag, add potatoes and shake until evenly coated.
lay them on a large plate (you can stack them)

 Parts of this step are not essential but when frying things like this, its handy to have them all in easy access, instead of running around the kitchen while your oil is unattended. Pour oil into a fry pan and heat it until hot. place the lined dish in reach to place cooked ones in. make sure you don't place the bowl of batter or plate of potatoes on a hot stove-top.
get your fork and tongs or slotted spoon ready
(optional)
Turn oven a a very low setting, so that you can leave the scallops in there while you cook other things or prepare the table. This will keep them hot

When the oil is nice and hot, dip your potato slices in the batter, lift them out with a fork and place into hot oil. this step is very messy, as batter drips everywhere!!!. fry on both sides until just starting to go golden and crisp. lift out with tongs or slotted spoon and put in lined tray.

Increase oil heat and get your slightly golden scallops ready. Fry again on both sides until batter is golden brown and the potato is soft (you may need to eat one to find this out!) Frying twice makes the potato lovely and soft and the batter deliciously crisp!.
place in tray again (you can replace lining if its soaked up a lot of oil) and either serve immediately or place in warm oven until your ready


Thank you for reading my instructable, i hope you enjoy this recipe
If you have any questions, comments or found an error, please comment
Thank you :)
AussieAnglerGal