Boxty

Method

1. Cut 150 g of the peeled floury potato into even chunks, put into a pan of cold salted water, bring to the boil and simmer 15-20 minutes until a knife slides in with no resistance. Drain thoroughly, return to the dry pan for a minute to steam off, then mash until completely smooth and leave to cool a little.
2. Meanwhile grate the remaining 150 g of raw peeled potato on the coarse side of a box grater, working quickly so it does not discolour. Pile it into a clean muslin or tea towel and wring it hard over a bowl to squeeze out as much liquid as you can.
3. Let the squeezed liquid stand for 5 minutes until a chalky layer of starch settles on the bottom of the bowl. Carefully pour off and discard the grey water, then scrape the white starch back into the grated potato — this is what holds a proper boxty together.
4. Tip the grated potato and its starch into the warm mash and mix well with a wooden spoon. Sift over 50 g of plain flour with 0.25 tsp of bicarbonate of soda and 0.5 tsp of salt, and fold through until no dry flour remains.