Back in August, my beautiful friend/colleague Wendy and I got to work the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) convention.  We decided to celebrate a job well done afterwards by going to the Grand Lux Cafe to raise our blood sugar.  Wendy recommended that I try the Double Stuffed Potato Spring Rolls, which taste like a loaded baked potato wrapped in a crispy shell.  Five pounds more “voluptuous-looking” later, I decided to replicate this delectable dish in my own kitchen.  It was kid-tested and kid-approved, so if you have skinny children or an underweight niece who’s trying to get into the army like I do, this is the dish you need to make to fatten them up!  These not only taste great as party appetizers or part of a main dish, they are super simple to make.  With the holidays coming soon, you should give them a try!

“Baked” Potato Spring Rolls:

-Makes about 12 spring rolls

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of mashed potatoes made from boiled potatoes, milk, salt. Don’t add any butter. Potatoes will be fried later.  
• 1 tsp Kosher salt, more or less to taste
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• Package of spring roll wrappers (don’t use egg roll wrappers, which are thicker)
• 1 egg, for sealing the spring roll wrappers
• sour cream, 1-2 tablespoon dollop per 3 spring rolls
• crispy bacon, chopped for garnish
• green scallions or fresh chives, chopped for garnish
• shredded cheddar cheese for garnish, or queso for topping
• peanut oil for frying

Directions:

1. Make the mashed potatoes. For roughly a dozen spring rolls, you will need 3 cups of mashed potatoes.  I can’t tell you how many potatoes to boil because it all depends on which variety and size of potato you decide to use.  Idaho or Yukon potatoes work well for this recipe.  When you make the mashed potatoes, just add milk/water and some salt and pepper to taste.  Add the garlic powder.  Make the potatoes fluffy.  Don’t make them too soggy.  You can also add shredded cheese to this mixture, or anything else you might want to add to the filling.  After all, everything tastes good fried, right?  I made it as simply as possible because 2 of my kids don’t like cheese, so I kept it to sprinkle on top of the spring rolls for later.

2.  Cook the bacon to a crisp. You can make as little or as much as you care to sprinkle on top of your potato spring rolls, or you can even incorporate into the filling.  I like to cook mine in the toaster oven until they turn an even golden brown.  Crumble the cooked bacon.

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3.  Remove the spring roll wrappers from the packaging.  If they were frozen, thaw them out at room temperature until pliable.  These wrappers are thin, so when you separate the layers, be careful not to tear the sheets.

4.  Crack an egg into a small bowl.  Be sure not to break up the yolk.  We will be using the egg white part only.  In my video that follows, I had to use the yolks because I had used up the whites for macarons earlier in the day.  We want to use egg whites because they are colorless.  Nothing wrong with using the yolks as a wrapper sealer, just that it will make the wrapper have dark yellow splotches.  

5.  Now it’s time to start rolling our potato spring rolls!  Please watch the video below to see how to roll:

6.  While you are rolling your rolls, heat up the peanut oil in your fryer to 350 degrees.  You can also use a deep pan of oil if you don’t have a fryer.  Just be sure to turn the rolls often and don’t let the oil overheat.  When you have finished rolling, place 6 spring rolls into the fryer.  Do not overcrowd.  Fry for about 10 minutes, or until crispy golden light brown color.

7.   Cut the spring rolls into halves, lay them on a plate, sprinkle with cheddar cheese, chives/scallions, crumbled bacon, and add a dollop of sour cream.  The cheddar cheese can also be substituted with melted cheese sauce or queso.  There you have it!  Enjoy!