Potato Puffs with Neat Filling

Are you a meat-and-potato person? Well, this recipe may transform you into a Neat-and-potato person!

Neat is a tasty meat replacement product that currently comes in three flavors: Mexican, Italian, and Original. The company is set to release a breakfast sausage flavor in the near future.

I love this Potato Puff recipe because it’s easily tailored to your family’s tastes. You can choose what Neat favor you use in the filling, as well as other ingredients that you tuck inside the mashed-potato balls.

For this recipe, I used Mexican Neat, onions, grape tomatoes, and homemade baked almond feta as my filling. You could add/swap in peas, green olives, corn, green chilies, or anything else you desire.

Another great thing about this recipe is that you can assemble the potato puffs ahead of time, keep them refrigerated, and then fry them later when you’re ready to eat.

NEAT POTATO PUFFS 

(Makes 6 large potato balls)

Ingredients:

3 large red potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 T oil

1 package of Mexican Neat

6 grape tomatoes

A finished batch of Baked Almond Feta (recipe here: http://www.maplespice.com/2011/04/baked-almond-feta-with-dill-oil.html)

1 c. flour

1 to 2 c. Panko bread crumbs

1 c. non-dairy milk

Oil for frying

Salt

Directions:

Steam or boil your potatoes until fork tender. While the potatoes cook, sauté the chopped onion in the oil over low to medium heat until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Prepare your Neat according to the package directions and add it to the pan with the onion. Cook until the Neat easily breaks up into crumbles, about 7. Turn off the heat, and set the pan aside.

 

Grab a portion of your almond feta and break it into 6 pieces that measure about 1 tablespoon in size each. Slice the grape tomatoes in half.

Once the potatoes are fork tender, move the potatoes to a bowl and mash with a potato masher until lump free. Add a pinch of salt while mashing. Allow the potatoes to cool about 20 minutes.

Once the potatoes are cool enough for you to handle, grab about ½ cup of mashed potatoes and make a flat disk in the palm of your left hand (if you’re a righty). With your right hand, push down into the center of the disk as your left-hand fingers slowly rotate the disk in a clockwise motion (You want to create a little bowl).

Create a "bowl" in your palm with the mashed potatoes.

Push down on the filling as you build up the sides of the potato "bowl" by raising the edges gently with your fingers as you rotate the mashed potatoes in your palm.

When you get as high as you can with your potato "bowl" without having the filling poke out anywhere, grab some extra potato from the mashed-potato bowl and add it to the top.

Smooth out the ball with both hands.

Add 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons of the Neat-onion mixture in the center of the potato bowl that’s cradled in your left hand. Top with a piece of almond feta and half a grape tomato (you can add more Neat, almond feta and/or the other half of the grape tomato if you think you have enough room).

As you rotate the potato bowl in your left hand, push down on the filling so the edges of the potato bowl rise. Continue this motion until the bowl is almost sealed at the top. Take about 1 to 2 tablespoons of extra mashed potato and add to the top of the potato bowl that’s in your hand. Use both hands to form the potato ball into a smooth ball. Set aside and finish the remaining puffs.

Pour the non-dairy milk into one bowl, the flour into another bowl, and the Panko bread crumbs into a third bowl. One at a time, dip a potato puff into the milk, then the flour, and then back into the milk, and finally into the Panko bread crumbs. Apply slight pressure to get the Panko to adhere all over the potato puff. Set aside, and when all the puffs are coated, place in the fridge.

Take a shallow sauce pan and fill with enough oil to come about halfway up the potato puff (You can deep-fry the puffs in more oil if you prefer, but I didn’t want to use up so much oil). Pull out one puff at a time from the fridge and pan fry it until the bottom half is golden brown (about 5-7 minutes). Keep an eye on the puffs, because as the oil gets hotter, the puffs will brown quicker. Carefully flip over the puff with a slotted spoon and fry the other half of the puff until golden brown (I found it easier to “flip” the puffs by carefully tilting the pan slightly so the puff is almost submerged in the oil – this makes it easier to nudge the puff over with the slotted spoon).

Drain the puff on a paper towel when done cooking, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Serve with your favorite condiment. I served my puffs with salsa, Nacho Mom’s Vegan Queso, and a little cilantro.

The puffs will be crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside. The Mexican Neat provides a wonderful meaty texture with a little heat. The baked almond feta adds a sharp tang, while the grape tomato adds a little juiciness to each bite along with some sweetness.

My finished potato puff served with salsa and cilantro and atop Nacho Mom's Vegan Queso.

The inside of one of the potato puffs.

Another puff cut open and drizzled with Nacho Mom's Vegan Queso.

Recipe: Tamale Casserole with Neat Mexican Mix

In yesterday’s post I reviewed Neat, which is a shelf-stable, dry-mix, meat-alternative product that’s available in three flavors: Mexican, Italian, and Original.

Using the Mexican mix, I made a hearty tamale casserole inspired by a recipe from Plan To Eat. 

Tamales are delicious but definitely require a bit of time to prepare. That’s why I like making tamale casseroles because I cook the filling, throw it in a pan, top it with the masa dough, and then bake. The trick to a perfect topping is steaming the masa dough so it obtains the tender, flaky consistency of a tamale cooked in a corn husk.

The last couple times I’ve made a tamale casserole, I prepared my dish, topped it with the masa, and then set the glassware on a rack inside of a roasting pan. I then added enough water into the roasting pan so the water level came about halfway up the side of the glassware. I covered the entire roasting pan and glassware with a few sheets of aluminum foil and baked it. The water bath steamed the masa effectively. 

I wanted to try Plan To Eat’s way because it didn’t involve the water bath. I did cover the glassware with foil because I was concerned the masa topping would get dry without it.

Masa is fun to work with because the texture is very fine. When you add a liquid, the mixture feels soft and fluffy in your hands. 

Tamale Casserole

Ingredients:

Topping:

• 2 cups masa
• 1-1/2 tsp of baking powder
• ½ tsp of salt
• ½ c of melted coconut oil
• 2 cups of vegetable broth

Directions:

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and then pour in the melted coconut oil and vegetable broth. Mix with a spoon and then your hands until the dough can be shaped into a ball. Set aside the bowl and complete the filling.

Filling:

• 1 package of Neat Mexican mix, prepared and set aside
• 1 T of oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 c. salsa
• ½ c. corn
• 1 can of black beans, drain and rinsed
• 1 c. of chopped olives
• Optional: chopped jalapenos, bell peppers, green onions.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Over medium heat, saute the onions in the oil in a large skillet. After 5 minutes, add the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the salsa, corn, beans, and prepared Neat mix. Simmer for 3-5 minutes and then remove from the heat. The Neat mixture will break down in the skillet and take on the texture of refried beans. You want the filling to be on the wetter side, so add more salsa juice or a couple tablespoons of veggie broth if the mixture starts to get pasty. Taste and add salt if needed.

The onion, corn, bean, and Neat mixture.

Transfer the filling to a 13-by-9-inch pan. Top with the chopped olives. (I also added chopped green onions). Grab a handful of the masa dough and flatten it in between your hands before laying it on the filling; repeat until the filling is covered. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and leave it covered on the stove for 10 minutes or so. 

Once in the glassware, I topped the mixture with chopped olives and green onions.

I flattened the masa dough in my hands and then placed the pieces over the mixture.

The masa topping was flavorful and slightly moist. The water-bath method produces a slightly moister topping, but the difference isn’t that great. With the water-bath method, you bake the dish for about an hour and then allow it to cool under the foil for 10-15 minutes. Bake longer if the topping looks like it needs more steaming.

I topped this tamale pie with salsa and some homemade Cilantro Avocado cream sauce, recipe from Oh She Glows here. (Scroll down for cream recipe)

A piece of tamale casserole topped with salsa and a cilantro avocado cream sauce.

The dish was spicy, sweet, tangy, and briny. The beans and corn gave a nice chew, while the Neat provided a creamy texture. The masa topping delivered a slight corn flavor and pastry-like texture. This is a dish worth making again! 

Product Review: Neat Meat Replacement Is Neato-Keano Swell (also #gluten-free, #soy-free)

The three flavors of Neat, a meat replacement and shelf-stable product. From left, Mexican, Italian, and Original

One of my favorite new vegetarian products that emerged on the market in 2013 is a shelf-stable, meat-replacement product called Neat. Neat was born in the kitchen of a Pennsylvania family, and the name came about when daughter Morgan said, “This isn’t meat; it’s neat!”

Another great thing about the company is that Neat is packaged by VisionCorps at its food facility in Lancaster County, Pa. VisionCorps provides support programs and employment opportunities to people who are blind or vision impaired.

Home cooks can prepare the Mexican, Italian, or Original mix with 2 tablespoons of water and 2 eggs or 2 egg substitutes (Yay, vegan option!). Parmesan or a vegan Parmesan is needed to make Italian neatballs. Once all the ingredients are combined, the thick mixture is then cooked in a pan with a little oil. 

I'm breaking up the Mexican Neat mix into crumbles as it cooks.

I’ve prepared and tasted all three mixes, and the finished products are slightly moist and just ever-so crumbly in your mouth.

Here’s a roundup of the three flavors:

• Mexican: As I prepared the mix, the smells brought back memories of Old-Ortega taco night as a kid. The strong aroma of chili powder and onion powder automatically makes you inhale deeply to take in that awesome taco-seasoning smell. This is definitely my favorite of the three, and I plan to use the mix when I make a tamale casserole (I’ll post the recipe and photos tomorrow).

• Original: This mix has the most delicious smells as you mix it and cook it in a pan. The package only lists “spices” in the ingredient list, but whatever the “spices” are, it’s a good combination fo’ sure. You can make ground neat, which will resemble the crumbles you get when making the Mexican mix. You also can make burgers – four patties per package.

• Italian: This mix definitely makes you think of Italian food as you prepare it. I made neatballs (eight balls per package) and used Parmela’sParmesan Style Aged Nut Cheese where the recipe called for 1/3 c. of Parmesan cheese. I added the cooked neatballs to some noodles and then poured on my homemade pesto sauce. My family enjoyed this dish tremendously, and the neatballs held their own well.

Neat can be purchased at VeganEssentials, Amazon, Vitacost, and on the Neat website.