American Potato Cutlets

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cooked, mashed russet potatoes
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup finely minced scallion
1 hard-boiled egg, minced or grated
3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 large egg, beaten
1/3 to 1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
A little butter (optional)

Directions

Place the mashed potatoes in a medium-sized bowl. Add the mustard, dill, garlic, scallion, hard-boiled egg, salt, and pepper. Mix until everything is thoroughly blended.
Break the egg onto a dinner plate, and beat it with a fork until smooth. Place the bread crumbs on another plate.
Use your hands (wet them if you like, for easier handling) to form the mixture into 3-inch patties, using about 1/4 cup for each.
Carefully dip both sides of each patty in egg and dredge them lightly in the bread crumbs to coat on all sides.
Place a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. After a minute or two, add the olive oil, wait for about 10 seconds, then swirl to coat the pan. If you like, you can also melt in some butter.
When the pan is hot enough to sizzle a bread crumb, fry the cutlets about 5 minutes on each side, or until golden and crisp. Remove the cutlets from the pan, and transfer them to a wire rack over a tray to cool. (This retains their crispy texture.)
Serve hot or warm, with any of the suggested toppings (sour cream, chipotle cream, salsa, carmelized onion and lemon marmalade, etc.).
Yield: 4 servings (2 patties each)