Marina Eats: Shokugeki no Souma and Mashed Potato Bacon Bombs

JUMP TO RECIPE

It was only last fall that draggle introduced me to this manga, and though I loved the concept and cooking, I was shocked at its bawdy display of eating. I quickly overcame that initial horror and came to thoroughly love Shokugeki no Souma. Imagine my delight when I found out that it would be soon adapted to anime! I was worried that the tone of the manga wouldn’t translate over to the anime, but for the past two weeks, those fears have remained unfounded. There are plenty of meat juices and peanut buttery tentacles to go around for all the diners!

The first episode of the anime, “An Endless Wasteland,” features Souma’s potato roast, a twist on a pork roast featuring mashed potatoes and mushrooms wrapped by crispy bacon and soaked through with meat juices and a red wine sauce. While the dish looks heavenly, I wasn’t too keen on an entire meal of what I would usually prefer as a side dish. I hunted around online for ideas and stumbled across Savory Style’s Mashed Potato Bacon Bombs and decided to try their snacks out, as well as add in some garlic and onions to tie in to Souma’s version. Go ahead and give the below a try and let me know what you think! And if you attempt a version truer to Souma’s, I’d love to see your results of that as well.

Ingredients

• 2 cups potatoes – I used Yukon Gold
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 yellow onion – finely diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• Bacon..one-two slices per Bomb – I opted for thinner slices
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• Sharp cheddar cheese cut into 1″ chunks (one chunk per Bomb) – Tillamook is my favorite!
• Metal spider strainer
• Deep fryer, or high-edged pot
• Oil for frying – I used Canola
• Sour Cream and toppings for dipping

Directions

1. Peel and slice potatoes into chunks, and bring to a boil over high heat.
   
2. Allow potatoes to boil until you can easily stick a fork through them (about 10 minutes).
3. Drain, then mash in a large bowl.
4. Saute the diced onion and garlic until aromatic and the onion is translucent.
   
5. Combine the mashed potatoes, onion, garlic, egg, and S&P until well blended.
   
6. IMPORTANT: Refrigerate until cool. I actually prepped the night before, and didn’t pick my steps back up until the next morning.
7. Grab a small scoop of the cold mashed potatoes and gently form it around a cheddar chunk.
   This is much more difficult than it sounds, since the potato mixture sticks to your hands. Just be patient and keep rolling them until they’re a nice round shape.
8. Place the bread crumbs into a shallow bowl, and roll the Bomb until fully covered.
   
9. Gently wrap 1-2 bacon slices around each bomb so that the mashed potatoes cannot be seen.
   I fudged here a bit since I didn’t get quite enough bacon. If you’re careful handling them during the frying process, a bit of revealed potato shouldn’t be a problem.
   
10. I again refrigerated my bacon-wrapped bombs for a few hours out of paranoid fear that they’d fall apart in the frying process. You could probably skip this step.
11. Fry them up in the oil (375-440 degrees Fahrenheit), until they’re evenly golden.
    
    1. I used a handy-dandy spider strainer I purchased specifically for this recipe, though I’m sure I’ll get many more uses for it in the future. The strainer allows the oil to drain while inserting and removing items, and is gentle enough to not break them up.
    2. Do the potato bombs in batches so they’re all evenly covered and spaced in the pot. After each batch, you may want to wait and re-check the temperature since it will drop every time. You want the bacon thoroughly cooked and crispy!
    3. Do not fret if you don’t have an authentic deep fryer. I don’t either! I used a regular pot with a lid that was tall enough to submerge my bombs, but whose sides were twice the height needed so that any splatter remained in the pot. While frying, I kept the lid on at a tilt to allow the steam to escape, but help maintain the temperature and keep the splatter down.
12. Let drain on a rack or plate over paper towels.
    If it’ll be a bit before you actually eat them, you can also keep them warm in the oven at 200 degrees F. You might need to do this regardless if you find the bombs’ cheese hasn’t melted all the way.
13. Serve them with sour cream, and serve them warm so they explode!