One of the very few processed foods I crave on a regular basis is tater tots. Crispy, salty pillows of potatoey goodness they are. Unfortunately Ore Ida has decided that tater tots need to contain some insane number of chemicals. So, as we here at ONK are avoiding processed foods what should we do? Well of course we make our own!

Thankfully there is not much to a tater tot. Potato, corn starch and salt. Really… That’s it. They don’t take much longer to make once your potatoes are baked than the bags of Ore Ida’s from your grocer’s freezer. If you are roasting your potatoes for this recipe specifically leave them a little underdone. It will make grating them easier and they will finish cooking in the oven. If you bake your potatoes with the skin on it will come off easily once they are baked.

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs potatoes baked, cooled, and peeled
• 2 scant Tbsp corn starch
• 1 Tbsp sea salt

Grate the potatoes with the large holes of a box grater (like you would a soft cheese). If your potato falls apart mash it into a ball in your hands and grate that (it’s a messy process that older kids will think is great fun… I swear I didn’t enjoy mushing potato in my hand). Once all your potato matter is grated mix in salt and corn starch. The moisture of the potatoes will bind the corn starch making the grated potato sticky. Form the grated potatoes into small balls (about and inch and a half in diameter) and put them on an oiled cookie sheet. Bake your tots at 400 degrees for twenty-five minutes.

If you want to class them up a bit put small cubes of cheddar cheese in the middle of the tots before baking. You can also choose to dust the top with a seasoning of your choice (barbecue works really well). They are truly delicious, picky eater approved, and chemical free.