Potato Scallop

Ingredients

Potatoes

• 3large sebago or desiree potatoes, about 800 g, unpeeled or peeled to taste
• 1 tbspsalt for the blanching water

Batter

• 200 gplain flour
• 50 gcornflour
• 2 tspbaking powder
• 1.5 tspsalt
• ½ tspwhite pepper
• 300 mlice-cold water or ice-cold soda water

To fry and serve

• 2 litrescanola or cottonseed oil
• seasoned chip salt (onion and garlic seasoned salt), for scattering while hot
• malt vinegar
• tomato sauce

Directions

1. Slice the potatoes into rounds an even 5 to 7 mm thick, using a mandoline if you have one; thicker slices stay raw in the middle and thinner ones go floppy under the weight of the batter.
2. Blanch the slices in well-salted boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes, until a knife meets slight resistance in the centre and the edges have just turned translucent. They should be almost cooked, not soft.
3. Drain and lay them in a single layer on a rack or clean tea towel and let them steam dry for at least 15 minutes. Any surface water will make the batter slide straight off in the oil.
4. Whisk the flour, cornflour, baking powder, salt and white pepper together, then add the ice-cold water and whisk only until just combined; a few small lumps are fine and better than an overworked batter.
5. The batter should coat a slice in a layer about 2 mm thick and drip slowly off a spoon in a ribbon. If it runs off like water, whisk in another tablespoon of flour.
6. Heat the oil to 180°C (350°F). Test with a drop of batter: it should sink briefly, rise within 2 seconds and bubble vigorously without browning instantly.
7. Dip each slice in the batter, let the excess drain for a second, and lower it into the oil away from you. Fry three or four at a time for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until the coating is a deep even gold and rigid.
8. Lift onto a rack, never onto paper, scatter with seasoned chip salt while they are still steaming, and eat immediately with vinegar and tomato sauce while the batter still crackles.

Technique

• The name is a national argument. It is a potato scallop in New South Wales and Queensland, a potato cake in Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia, and a potato fritter in parts of South Australia, and the boundary runs almost exactly along the state lines.
• There is no scallop in it and never was. The name most likely comes from the scalloped, rounded shape of the slice rather than from the shellfish.
• Blanching first is what separates a good scallop from the pale, raw-centred ones you sometimes get. The potato needs to be cooked before it ever meets the batter, because the batter browns in three minutes.
• The orange seasoned salt on every Australian takeaway counter is what makes it taste right; despite its trade name it is a spiced vegetable seasoning and most brands contain no meat at all.

Substitutions

• No cornflour: use all plain flour, though the coating will be slightly heavier and less crisp.
• Ice-cold beer or soda water in place of plain water gives a lighter, puffier batter through the extra carbonation.
• Sweet potato rounds work with the same method and need a minute less blanching.

Variations

• The Victorian potato cake is often cut slightly thicker and given a heavier batter.
• A scallop split open and filled with chips and gravy is a takeaway shop indulgence.
• Some shops offer a curried batter, tinted yellow with curry powder.

History

Called a potato cake in Victoria and a scallop in New South Wales, a divide Australians argue about endlessly.

Frequently asked questions

What is Potato Scallop?

Potato Scallop is a street food from Australia: battered potato slice deep-fried at the fish and chip shop. Called a potato cake in Victoria and a scallop in New South Wales, a divide Australians argue about endlessly.

How long does Potato Scallop take to make?

Potato Scallop takes 20 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 12 scallops. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Potato Scallop?

Yes, within limits. No cornflour: use all plain flour, though the coating will be slightly heavier and less crisp. Ice-cold beer or soda water in place of plain water gives a lighter, puffier batter through the extra carbonation. Sweet potato rounds work with the same method and need a minute less blanching.

What is the most important thing to get right in Potato Scallop?

Lift onto a rack, never onto paper, scatter with seasoned chip salt while they are still steaming, and eat immediately with vinegar and tomato sauce while the batter still crackles.