Gidget Roots - Journey Through Family Recipes - Episode 14: Potato Pancakes (Placki ziemniaczane)

Hi Readers! I hope you all have been staying safe, busy, and creative in the kitchen! I must apologize for September and October were crazy months for my family. Although the blog posts have been on the back burner for awhile, I promise you we still have been staying Crafty in the Kitchen and cooking up some fun recipes and have for you some new virtual cooking adventures to share!  It has been 3 months since the last post and now I bring you our cooking adventure we had at the end of August. Potato Pancakes! 

When this recipe was first suggested I think all I heard was "pancakes" and though how fun and appropriate for back to school than a delicious pancake recipe. Then my aunt sent a reminder and I realized oh, not pancakes, but POTATO PANCAKES!? Can a Polish / Irish gal get any more excited? I think not!  Needless to say I was a little more excited for these than regular pancakes.

Brief History --  I always knew this dish as "Latke" and I wasn't sure whether there is a difference between the two. The researcher in me was up for the delicious task to uncover the mystery and per usual I consulted the friendly internet library we know and love (most of the time). I discovered the two are quite similar but have nuanced differences. Latkes are commonly associated with the Jewish community and are usually made with eggs, a little milk, flour or matzo meal and baking powder. Potato Pancakes turn up in most European cultures, from the Polish placki to Swedish rarakor, German kartoffelpuffer (what a cool name/word!) and Irish boxty. Most have egg as a binder, but not all of the variations of this dish include flour or baking powder.  

Many Americans associate potato pancakes with Hanukkah because of their affiliation to the Jewish community, but they have more broad origins. They originated in the eastern European countries of Germany, Austria, Russia, and Poland (aka Balkan Region) as a peasant food. Potatoes were cheap, plentiful, and easy to store, making them a staple and necessitating inventive potato recipes. 

Family Recipe Adventure - 

Our family recipe variation is closer to classic Polish preparation of Placki ziemniaczane and does not use baking powder.  The recipe was quite simple calling for only three ingredients and only one seasoning - salt! We definitely had to play the downsize game with this one as well. Although I love my potatoes, three for one person seemed a bit of a stretch. I used 1 potato and 1 egg.  First step was to grate the potatoes. I hand grated my potato (skin on) and my aunties took the smart way out and used a food processor to grate their potatoes. (My food processor only has a blade and not the slicing top grater shield, which would be grate! )😂

Once grated, we decided to drain off some of the excess liquid. This is NOT mentioned in the family recipe, but is highly suggested. I think it helps hold the potatoes together once you add the egg and flour, keeping you from having too much liquid. No one likes soggy potatoes unless its in a soup! I used a paper towel to help squeeze out the liquids while my aunties took on a more hands on approach. This recipe is a great one to make to help get out any extra angst or aggression you may have pent up! Plus, I always think using your hands as much as possible is the best way to cook!

Once the excess liquid was drained off, we put the potatoes in a mixing bowl. It was time to add the binding ingredients and the all powerful and revered seasoning - salt.  Because it was downsized, I whisked up one egg and into the bowl it went. Mix, mix, mix!

 

The troubling part wasn't the egg - that was easy.  But once again in many of our family recipes, there wasn't much direction on HOW MUCH flour to add except "to make a consistency of pancake batter." I will tell you this was really difficult for me because let's face it - I have never in my life had chunky potato-ey glop in my pancake batter, so for this we simply did the only thing we could do - we listened to our ancestors and stopped adding once we heard the whisper "that's enough." Or our intuition says, "looks good, to me!"

There really isn't a better frying / cooking vessel for this other than cast iron skillet or pan. To each their own, but I really believe it makes a huge difference in something like this. We oiled the pan (I added enough to cover the bottom) and after, it was time to start adding out pancakes!

I mean they already look amazing...

Time for frying was not provided, which is probably a good thing since there are several variables at play - amount of oil, type of pan, consistency of the potato mix, etc. I think it was about 7-10 minutes? But really, you just fry in the oil until golden brown, turning several times. 

And once they were golden brown, I removed mine and placed them on a paper towel to help absorb any extra oil that was trying to catch an easy ride to my hips. 

 

 

Once all the batches of the pancakes are done, it was time to sit down and enjoy the eyes of our labor. My aunt remembers topping her potato pancakes with maple syrup as a child, so that is how they enjoyed their sweet variation of the dish - drizzled with delightful sweet sticky syrup and a memory from a time that was surfacing to the table with love.

I myself prefer savory variations of most things, so I decided to pair mine along side some lemon pepper chicken, a white wine, and a topped it off with a dollop of chive and parsley sour cream. YUM!

The dinner discussion began with whether or not this recipe was a hit or a miss. Again, the variations are nuanced even from kitchen to kitchen! My aunt said she thinks their potatoes were too coarse because it doesn't quite match what she remembers. They remade the dish in a couple more batches the next day and it turned out to be closer to what she remembers growing up than what we made together. Then the discussion meandered towards family, memories, books (of course) and it was a pleasant and enjoyable evening. 

For me, the potato pancake recipe was without fail an easy recipe which I positively loved. Because this family recipe is such a "Plain Jane" and straight forward dish, I am looking forward to making it again with a few twists and enhancements! Did you know they even have some fun topping variations? Here are some exciting updated twists I found in a Food Network magazine: Latkes for Days

The next adventure was on the horizon and so too shall be the next chapter of "Gidget Roots" - you will get to enjoy another post very soon, as I am determined to get caught up with sharing our adventures before we begin a new adventure next week!  Thank you all for being patient and understanding during my slight hiatus from blogging, but I am so looking forward to bringing you fun content more consistently! 

Bądź zdrowy i szczęśliwy!  

NEXT EPISODE: Kotlety Schabowe & Red Cabbage with Apples

____________________________________________________________________________________

ORIGINAL RECIPE

POTATO PANCAKES

You will need: 3 eggs

3 potatoes

Flour

Salt

Oil (for frying)

Beat 3 eggs and set aside. Grate 3 large potatoes into a bowl. Stir in the eggs and a teaspoon of salt. Add enough flour to make a consistency of pancake batter. 

Fry in a pan of hot oil until golden brown, turning several times. 

*This recipe was handed down from my 3x great grandmother to my 2x great grandma (Granny M) and then to my Bapka, (my great grandma).*