This is about the most basic potato cake recipe you can find.

Ingredients

2 cups chilled mashed potatoes (see Note)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, for dredging
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method

Divide the mashed potatoes into 8 equal portions. Use your hands to form 1/2-inch thick patties.

Heat the oil with the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Mix the flour with the salt and pepper in a pie plate. Coat the potato patties in the flour mixture. Add the potato cakes to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until they have formed a golden crust, 15 to 20 minutes. (Peek underneath using a spatula before turning.) Turn and cook the other side until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper and serve hot.

Results

This version of the recipe makes patties that don't stick all that well together at first. I wonder if that is because the recipe I used for the mashed potatoes is wetter than some other versions?

These came out adequately. Next time around I might try one of the more complex recipes that includes eggs.