St Patrick's Day Muffins (Savoury Potato Muffins)

I got this from a cupcake calender which has a different recipe for every day of the year. (Thanks Ang!) I made these recently and added a few tweaks. Note that this recipe has boiled chopped potatoes, not mashed and is vegetarian.

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Serves: 4-6
• Yields: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 2  medium potatoes (peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
• 2 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1  tablespoon baking powder
• 1  pinch salt (be generous as they can be a bit bland otherwise)
• 1  egg (lightly beaten)
• 4  tablespoons  vegetable oil
• 1 1⁄4 cups buttermilk
• 3  tablespoons fresh chives (or spring onions chopped)
• 3  tablespoons fresh parsley (chopped)
• 1⁄2 cup  yellow cheese (grated) (optional)

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F (175C).
2. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan or use paper liners (preferably green or with shamrocks on them).
3. In a small saucepan, cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 8 minutes or until just tender.
4. Drain and rinse under cold water and set aside.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder.
6. In a large bowl, beat the egg, oil, buttermilk, chives or spring onion and parsley.
7. Stir the flour mixture into the buttermilk mixture until nearly combined. Gently fold in potatoes. Add the cheese if using, note that you should reduce the added salt if using a salty cheese like parmesan or crumbled feta.
8. Spoon into muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes. You can top these with extra grated cheese, sesame seeds or even some flax seeds.
9. Remove pan from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove muffins and cool on rack.
10. Serve with a glass of Guinness!.