Background
Polish Potato Pancakes became popular in the late 18th century, as a result of potatoes becoming cheaper and more secure in their availability for the everyday Polish person. The recipe itself is believed to originate from an area in Europe that nowadays, is the far east border of Poland and Belarus. Today its a key tradition element of some Polish recipes such as Gulasz.
As a bit of a warning… The cooking part of these is quick and easy, but in my experience the grating of potatoes can be a bit intensive. I recommend only making these on a day you have time to spare, if its your first attempt. That being said, anyone who has a food processor may find it much easier.
| – 1kg (2.2lbs) of all purpose potatoes – 2 Medium size eggs – 1 Medium onion – 30g (1 oz) of all purpose flour – 1 Teaspoon of Salt & Pepper – 1 Teaspoon of brown sugar – 4 Tablespoons of Cooking Lard or fat (Vegetable oil can be used as a last resort) |
Preparation
- Peel the Potatoes
- Peel the Onion
- Crack the eggs and place them in a medium size bowl
Method
Grate the Potatoes & Onions
I strongly recommend using the finest grating option on your grater or food processor for this. It will ensure the Potatoes cook properly. The potatoes are also going to release quite a bit of water to make sure to use the grater over bowl or on top of a plate.
If your using a hand grater, I suggest taking your time as if you rush it can be exhausting. If your potatoes are particularly large, I find cutting them in half helps them grate a little faster.
Once you finished grating the potatoes, grate the onion using the same grating option you used for the potatoes. The Onions may also release a lot of water content during grating so I recommend doing this in a bowl or on a plate too.
Squeeze The Potatoes
The Potatoes will still have a lot of excess water in them. For this part I recommend a mesh strainer or cotton cloth. As a last resort you can just use your hands and squeeze small amounts over an empty bowl.
Once squeezed the potatoes should have a dry-ish consistency, similar to grated carrots. Don’t stress if its still a little wet, as this will help with the mixing stage.
Prepare Seasoning & Mix
In a bowl beat the eggs before adding the flour, Salt, Pepper and Sugar (optional) to the bowl. Mix thoroughly until the mixture is smooth.
Next in a large bowl add the grated potatoes, onion and seasoned beaten eggs. Mix well until everything is evenly combined.
Time to Fry
Preheat a large frying pan with all the Lard or cooking Fat to medium-high heat. Important Note: I don’t recommend making cooking oil the primary choice, as you will lose a signature flavour from the dish. That being said, if you need to use oil aim for something vegetable based that has a high smoke point and dry the pancakes well after cooking.
Using a large metal spoon. Scoop a portion of the grated potato mix and place into the preheated pan. Use the back of the spoon to spread out the mixture until its around 2cm (3/4 thick).
Fry until golden brown, before flipping and doing the same on the other side. If the pancakes are taking longer than 5 minutes to start browning, turn the heat up a little.
Continue frying until all the mixture has been used. Feel free to add more Lard, Fat or oil as needed.
Serving
Polish Potato Pancakes are traditionally served with Gulasz. However, they also work as a independent dish or with other recipes that have a generous amount of sauce.
Storage
If refrigerated within an hour of cooking, in a airtight food safe container. Then up to 3 days should be possible for storage.