Potato scallops/cakes/fritters at home!

Being from NSW we call them scallops, but depending on which state you live in, you might know them as potato cakes, fritters…whatever or however you call them we ALL know they are DELICIOUS. There isn’t anything that says Australian summer by the beach more than a crispy fried potato scallop covered in salt (chicken is not for me please and thank you). Every time we go to the beach it is my go-to. I shared a deep love and passion for these with my father in law so when I saw them being made by someone on Instagram over Easter I knew that I had to have a crack!

These are so easy to do at home, sure there is frying involved which means smell and mess (I always tend to grumble “it smells like a fucking CHIPPER in here” DER BETH) but you get a potato scallop at home and that my friends is worth it! I saw them on Instagram and the original recipe is from SBS food here. I had to make them again as the first time I cut the potatoes a little too thick…the second time they were MUCH better. Oh they will be made again, I know that much is true.

Potato Scallops

3 large potatoes
1.5 cups of plain flour
1.5 cups sparkling mineral/soda water
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and peel (I wasn’t bothered the first time but did the second) and slice your potatoes into 0.5cm or just over. I tried the 1cm that the recipe suggested but it was just too thick so somewhere between half a cm – 80mm is ideal. Place into the bottom of a roasting tin, pour over with boiling water, cover tightly with foil and place in the oven for about 15 mins or until it starts to get tender

2. Once it has started to become tender (you don’t want too soft as they will fall apart) you take a slotted spoon and place carefully out onto paper towel to dry off. You can also use tea towels to pat them dry

3. Into a bowl place the flour and baking powder and make a well with your whisk – slowly add in the mineral water until it’s combined into a smooth batter

4. Heat your oil in a shallow fry pan (I used a deep wok and a shallow pan and both worked fine. I used both vegetable and rice bran oil and found the rice bran worked best. Test the oil is hot enough (I place the bottom of a wooden spoon into the oil and if it starts to bubble it’s hot – you can try with a small piece of bread too if it starts to fry it’s good to go). Fry for about 5-8 m ins in total until golden brown turning as you go.

5. Drain onto paper towel and sprinkle with fine salt at the end and eat immediately!

My family were THRILLED about these being piled high and eaten and even more so a week or so later when I made them again with some whiting fillets dipped into the batter and fried too. For me I was STOKED that I can now eat these bad boys at home and was sure that my father in law would have been just as excited as I was. I wish I could have made him some of these at the farm and listened to his thoughts and comments on my experiment – he always loved to plant a food idea or suggestion to me, then have a watch as I had a had a try with lots of commentary and then of course the taste test. Gosh I miss him.

Potato Scallops

These fried potato cakes are iconic in Australia for beachside holidays but now you can make them at home!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes

Equipment

  • Roasting pan
  • Frying pan

Ingredients
  

  • 3 large potatoes peeled and sliced
  • 1.5 cups plain flour
  • 1.5 cups sparkling water mineral or soda
  • 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 180 degrees and peel and slice your potatoes into 0.5cm or just over. Somewhere between half a cm - 80mm is ideal. Place into the bottom of a roasting tin, pour over with boiling water, cover tightly with foil and place in the oven for about 15 mins or until it starts to get tender
  • Once it has started to become tender (you don't want too soft as they will fall apart) you take a slotted spoon and place carefully out onto paper towel to dry off. You can also use tea towels to pat them dry
  • Into a bowl place the flour and baking powder and make a well with your whisk - slowly add in the mineral water until it's combined into a smooth batter
  • Heat your oil in a shallow fry pan (I used a deep wok and a shallow pan and both worked fine. I used both vegetable and rice bran oil and found the rice bran worked best. Test the oil is hot enough (I place the bottom of a wooden spoon into the oil and if it starts to bubble it's hot - you can try with a small piece of bread too if it starts to fry it's good to go). Fry for about 5-8 m ins in total until golden brown turning as you go.
  • Drain onto paper towel and sprinkle with fine salt at the end and eat immediately!

Do you love these icons as much as I do?
Potato scallop or cake where you come from?

Comments

  1. Potato scallops here, thanks 🙂

    My local chippie does… wait for it…. PUMPKIN SCALLOPS that are to die for! Butternut pumpkin, and they also do pumpkin rings using slices of the hollow end of the butternut (these are my favourite coz more batter!). Also, sweet potato scallops. You’re welcome 🙂

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