What I love about this dish: it is a comfort food juggernaut. The turkey is remarkably moist and tender. The waffle stays crispy – even when slathered with sauce – to the last bite.
You’ll need an Instant Pot and a waffle maker.
Ingredients
- For the Paprikash
1 Tbs butter
1 onion, finely chopped
3 Tbs paprika
½ tsp cumin
2 cloves of garlic, minced, optional
1 red bell pepper, diced to small pieces
1 can (14.5 oz.) of tomatoes, crushed by hand
¾ tsp salt (less, if the stock is salty)
½ tsp pepper
6 Tbs chicken stock
1½ lbs turkey breast tenderloins, sliced into bite-sized pieces
½ cup Greek yogurt
¼ cup flour
Chopped parsley, for garnish
- For the Waffles
1 bag (30 oz.) of frozen tater tots, thawed
Directions
- Paprikash
- Place the butter in the Instant Pot. Set the sauté function to normal, 8 minutes. Once the butter has melted (3 minutes), add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft (3 minutes). Add paprika, cumin, (and garlic), and continue to cook for 1 minute.
- Add the bell pepper, tomatoes, salt, and pepper to the pot. Pour the stock into the tomato can and give it a good slosh, to collect any remaining juices, and pour the result into the pot. Give the pot’s contents a good stir. Add the turkey; toss to coat. Set the Poultry function to Less (7 minutes), High (pressure); Natural Release for 10 minutes.
- Stir 1/3 cup of the hot paprikash liquid into the yogurt; set aside. Thoroughly combine the flour with at least 3 Tablespoons of water to make a slurry with no lumps. Pour the flour mixture into the paprikash, and activate the sauté function. (It should automatically recreate the setting from Step 1.) Cook the sauce until it thickens, 2-3 minutes. Add the yogurt and take your time stirring it in. Cancel the sauté, and activate the “keep warm” function.
- Waffles
- Preheat the waffle maker to its highest setting. Line each of the compartments with a wealth of tots. Close the machine, press the lid down, and cook the waffles until it tells you that they’re ready. Check them; they should be crispy, and they should stick together if you attempt to lift them from the iron. If they’re not not done, continue cooking, checking once every 2 minutes.
- Use two forks to finagle the waffles onto plates. (Be careful; they’re extremely hot.) Top with paprikash. Garnish with yogurt and parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
- For my All-Clad Belgian waffle maker, I find the easiest way to make the tots is to pour the entire bag into the machine, remove about 24 tots, and make as smooth a layer as you can with those that remain. After they’re done, make a fifth waffle with the 24 you pulled.
Social Learning
This dish has exactly the kind of elevated-school-cafeteria vibe that you would celebrate ironically with your friends. But I wouldn’t serve it just to make a statement; it tastes great! So great, I have a hard time keeping myself from eating way too much of it in one sitting! I scarfed up the leftovers like crazy.
If you just can’t imagine yourself eating a tater tot waffle, you could serve the paprikash with whole, boiled, buttered potatoes, or maybe something noodle-y and have a much more like-grandma-used-to-make experience. On the other hand, you could make your own, homemade tots, from scratch. But they’re apparently so hard to make, that this very informative article says, “Fuck making them … buy frozen.“
Left over, the paprikash is indistinguishable from fresh. The waffles will not retain their crunch, but they’ll still taste good. So if you want to pace out the work, make the paprikash in advance, but the waffles to order. The yogurt (substitute sour cream, if you wish) garnish is essential.
The Backstory
I used to buy spices where they stocked them in bulk, and I could buy only as much as I wanted. Those days are gone now, because Kroger bought my favorite upscale grocery, and replaced the bulk spices with the flower shop that used to be nearer to the entrance, and filled the entrance with cotton candy and caramel corn.
I have some choice words for you, Kroger, bubbling up in my gut … but I want to try to live in a better world than we’ve all lived in for the previous four years. So I’ll choke them down, remain civil, and buy my spices from a little boutique shop in Old Town, near a pretty decent chocolatier. Anyway, all of that to say, when you have to buy a whole packet of paprika, just because you needed a tiny bit … now you know how to get rid of all the rest of it: paprikash.
Turkey Paprikash over Tater Tot Waffles
Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. Thanks, Kesor. Thanks Prosper Circle. In prepping this post, I found Taste of Home to be helpful.
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I’m sorry about Kroger. I wish there were photos of turning tater tots into waffles. Somehow I just don’t get it. Love the paprika’s!
Chef Mimi recently posted…A Basic Omelet
Oh, thanks. I’ll take some pictures of that next time. I simply started placing them in the waffle compartments, then started nestling more and more in, and then started layering a few more on top of those, until I had as many as I thought could possibly be crammed in there. Then I shut the lid and pressed down on it to compact them. They wind up sticking together and taking on the shape of the waffle maker! When you pull them out of the machine, each one comes out as a waffle!
Tender turkey, crispy waffle and creamy sauce…that’s a party in the mouth. The sauce would be great for some pasta too!
angiesrecipes recently posted…Fruity Carrot Soup Spelt Bread
It certainly would.
No Instant Pot and no waffle maker but I’m intrigued with your end result.
Karen (Back Road Journal) recently posted…Claude Monet, The Artist’s Garden And Home
You could do this as a casserole with a tater tot topping. Obviously, you’d have to modify the liquid content, or you lessen the thickener.
Paprika isn’t in enough recipes. It’s good stuff!
Thanks!
How delicious! The only thing I ever (and always) got from the school cafeteria was the plate of 3 giant, warm chocolate chips. Ha! I love the sound of “elevated school cafeteria food” and this recipe sounds super elevated. Yum! 🙂 ~Valentina
Valentina recently posted…Lemon Grilled Asparagus in Foil
Thanks, Valentina! It sounds like your school lunches were pretty much cookies!
Ugh to Kroger messing up your shopping habits. Thankfully, our Fresh Thyme still has bulk bins of seasonings where we can buy as little or as much as we want. With that said, this dish sounds like a real winner!
So lucky for you! Yes, now they’re reorganizing the aisles. That bugs me even more!
OK this sounds delicious. I think I might have a half of a bag of tater tots hiding in the aux. refrigerator. This might be a good salvage meal alternative!
anne in the kitchen recently posted…The Plan That Went Awry
Oh, you could do just about anything with those tater tot waffles!
Hmmm, looks yum and I have a waffle-maker!
Yes. Happened to me, too.
Got my spices at Tiger – good quality, reasonable prices. Tiger is still there but the spices are replaced by sweets, gah. Sad.
School-cafeteria? We had no such thing. Maybe luckily as I´m picky 😉 I like to cook myself so I know what´s in there.
Iris Flavia recently posted…T STands For Toast Hawaii And Books
Sweets! Arg!
I love paprika (Not sure if I’ve ever had it with turkey), so this twist is right up my alley! Indeed, it seriously looks and sound irresistible delicious and hearty. And with the addition of tater tots waffles and yogurt (or sour cream)? Yes, please.
Thank you, Ben!
I had to laugh at your comments about bulk spices – first of all, bulk spices. Amazing! I feel like I never see those anymore. There was a place we used to get spices in Atlanta that was insanely cheap…man, I miss that place. Anyhoo, this is a great recipe. And I love your “comfort food juggernaut” description – that’s pretty much how I describe my favorite meals, too.
David @ Spiced recently posted…Mexican Lasagna
Thanks, David. I love bulk spices!
Jeff your Turkey Paprikash sounds great all by itself, which is likely how I’d have it as we don’t have tatter tots in this part of the world. I do miss those things. Bulk spices are the only way to go. We have a great spice shop nearby. It amazing how much more you pay to have your spices put in those little jars. Maybe I should make a hashbrowns waffle to try with this…
Ron recently posted…A Swedish nouveau-salmon dish…
No tater tots? I’m canceling my trip. Just kidding. I’ll bring tots. Hash browns would work in the waffle iron, so I’m told. But honestly, were I doing it without the tots, I might serve the paprikash over or aside noodles, or mashed, smashed, or boiled potatoes. 0r waffled hashbrowns … the more I imagine it, the more I like the idea!
Jeff, the noodle idea sounds good, but over mashed potatoes would be hard to beat as well. But, the more I think about it, the more I’m thinking waffled hashbrowns.
Ron recently posted…A Swedish nouveau-salmon dish…
Yeah, I love that idea!
I’ve never used tator tots for anything, but this dish certainly has caught my attention. I don’t have an instant pot, but I don’t mind slow cooking on the stovetop or using a pressure cooker. This dish looks like a winner.
mjskitchen recently posted…Kimchi Vegetables – Quick & Easy
Thank you!
Really fun recipe, and it sounds delish. Love the line, “elevated-school-cafeteria vibe” — so descriptive. I need to get a waffle maker — who can resist tater tot waffles? 🙂
John / Kitchen Riffs recently posted…The Charlie Chaplin Cocktail
I know, they’re pretty easy to eat! Thank, John.
such a clever idea for the tatertots waffles. I’ll be trying that one. Thanks
Judee recently posted…Orange Fruity Salad Dressing
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Molto appetitoso e invitante questo piatto!!!!
speedy70 recently posted…PIZZA BUFALINA con CRUDO e RUCOLA
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Chicken paprikas is one of my favourite Hungarian dishes, I always serve it with nokedli (dumplings) but I just love this version, the tater tot waffles sound incredible! I can certainly see why you can’t stop eating it.
Eva Taylor recently posted…Loaded Double Belgian Chocolate Cookies
It would be nice with dumplings! But the tater tots are very fun.
I’ve never bought tater tots, not sure if we can even get them here, they look like fun though, and the turkey dish looks very tasty and comforting. I think you had fun with this dish Jeff.
Pauline recently posted…CELERY GRATIN
Thanks, I did. Tater tots are impossible not to love. They’re probably not good for you at all, which is probably why they taste so good!
That is a sad, sad story about the Kroger! But besides that, I love this recipe. Tater tot waffles just seem genius to me–I bet my kids would be all over that. And love the turkey paprikash to go on top too!
Molly Pisula recently posted…Spinach Mushroom Quiche with Tomatoes
Thanks, Molly!
It becomes a good dinner dish in one Sunday. Just wonder that How i can prepare a waffles without the waffles-machine. Have a wonderful weekend.
bread&salt recently posted…How to Make Spinach Cake with Custard
I don’t think you could. You could just serve this over tots, I’m sure. Although a lot of people like to serve it over small dumplings.
Your description is perfect, it is indeed comfort food juggernaut.
Easyfoodsmith recently posted…JEERA BISCUIT – जीरा बिस्कुट (Cumin Seed Shortbread Cookies)
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If it goes in your mouth it’s fair game for the waffle maker! GREG
Haha!
A comfort food juggernaut is such a great way to describe this meal, Jeff! I don’t think we have tater tots here in Australia but I love the method – I might try that with other frozen potato products. I know my kids would enjoy eating anything over a crispy potato waffle like this! And paprikash is one of my favourites.. perfect recipe if you ask me!
Katerina recently posted…Peach, grape and plum jam [refined sugar free]
Thank you!
I have never had a tater tot. There, I have said it. How can that be? They weren’t served at school and Mom would have nothing to do with anything of the kind. I feel like I missed out! I definitely need to try this Jeff. (Sorry I have been MIA – work has been awful lately!)
Wow! Well at this point, I think you should accept and defend it as one of your defining features! Be totless and proud!