Roasted Garlic and Pesto DIY Tater Tots

I just planted a whole bunch of potatoes in the garden, so I’m going to need some recipes to deal with them. I decided to try to make some adult flavored tater tots.  You’ll need a food processor or a blender, and if you don’t have food processor, a grater. I baked these, but you could also try pan frying them in safe oil.

Roasted Garlic and Pesto DIY Tater Tots

Pesto:

• 1 cup of tightly packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 cup and 1 Tablespoon of olive oil

Put all ingredients in the blender or food processor and blend/process until pureed.

Tater Tots:

• 4 large potatoes (I used russet)
• 2 Tablespoons of Pesto (see above)
• 1/4 cup of roasted garlic (here’s how to do it)

Preheat your oven to 400°F.  Peel and wash your potatoes. Place the potatoes on a small baking sheet.  Bake the potatoes for about an hour.

(NOTE: If I don’t already have roasted garlic, I prep the garlic as described in the link above and bake it at the same time as the potatoes.)

When the potatoes (and possibly the garlic) are ready to come out of the oven, remove the potatoes and garlic and turn the temperature on the oven to 425°F.  If you’re using a large hand grater, you need to wait until the potatoes are cool so you don’t burn your fingers. Since I was using the grating blade on my food processor to grate the potatoes, I cheated and did them hot. I sliced them lengthwise just enough to get them in the food processor, and grated them up.

Some of the grated pieces may be too long, and you may want to chop them up a bit either with a knife or a potato masher.  Mix the pesto sauce and the roasted garlic into the potatoes until they are well combined.

Spray your baking sheet with your safe oil in a mister. I used a small cookie scoop to portion out the tater tots, but you could use two teaspoons to drop the mixture on your baking sheet.

Use your oil mister to mist the top of the tater tots, and place the baking sheet in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Use some tongs or a spatula to turn them over, and then bake them for another 25-30 minutes. You want to watch them closely, as you’ll notice mine were a tad overcooked.

Take them out of the oven, salt to taste, and enjoy!