 Potato pancakes with apple sauce and sour cream | |
| Type | Pancake |
|---|---|
| Region or state | Central,Eastern, andNorthern Europe |
| Main ingredients | Potatoes,flour,egg,cooking oil |
Potato pancakes areshallow-friedpancakes consisting of grated or groundpotato,matzo meal orflour and a binding ingredient such asegg orapple sauce, often flavored with gratedgarlic oronion andseasonings. They may be topped with a variety ofcondiments, ranging from the savory (such assour cream orcottage cheese), to the sweet (such asapple sauce orsugar), or they may be served plain. The dish is sometimes made frommashed potatoes to make pancake-shapedcroquettes.[1] Some variations are made withsweet potatoes.[2][3]
Potato pancakes are associated with variousEuropean cuisines, includingIrish (asboxty),German andAustrian (asKartoffelpuffer,Reibekuchen,Reiberdatschi,Erdäpfelpuffer andErdäpfellaibchen),Dutch (asaardappelpannenkoek,reifkoeken,reifjes),Belarusian (asдранікіdraniki),Bulgarian (aspatatnik),Czech (asbramborák,cmunda orvošouch),Hungarian (astócsni,lapcsánka and other names),Jewish (aslatka,Yiddish:לאַטקע,[4]Hebrew:לביבהlevivah, pluralלביבותlevivot),Latvian (askartupeļu pankūkas),Lithuanian (asbulviniai blynai),Luxembourg (Gromperekichelcher),Polish (asplacki ziemniaczane),Romanian (astocini ortocinei),Russian (asдраникиdraniki),Slovak (aszemiakové placky),Ukrainian (asдеруниderuny),Italian (Frittelle di patate) and any cuisine that has adopted similar dishes. In Spain they are calledtortillitas de patatas; in Mexico in some areas they are calledtortitas de papa orcamaron, and are only prepared in some regions for Lent or meatless Fridays.
It is the national dish ofBelarus,Ukraine,Russia andSlovakia. InGermany, potato pancakes are eaten either salty (as a side dish) or sweet with apple sauce,[5] or blueberries, sugar and cinnamon; they are a very common menu item during outdoor markets and festivals in colder seasons. InSwiss cuisine,rösti is a variation that never contains egg or flour. Americanhash browns are also without eggs and flour. Potato pancake is a traditional favorite in the southern parts ofIndiana during holiday festivities.[6] InTaranto,Italy potato pancakes are calledfrittelle di patate alla tarantina and are made with potatoes, salt andCanestrato Pugliese.
There are four Swedish versions of potato pancakes.
All four variants are traditionally served with friedbacon andlingonberry jam.
Potato cakes are common in theUnited Kingdom. In theNorth-East of England (particularly County Durham), there is a dish known as "tattie fish" because the pancake resembles a deep-fried piece of fish. The pancake consists of flour, eggs, shredded potatoes and onions. Some people addtomato orcheese to the mix.
The British also brought potato pancakes to former colonies such as Zimbabwe, where they are an affordable dish still eaten today.
A form of potato pancake known asboxty (Irish:bacstaí) is a popular traditional dish in most ofIreland, particularly northConnacht and southernUlster. It is made similarly to the British type, with more starch and often withbuttermilk andbaking soda. It has a smooth, grained consistency.
Latkes (לאַטקע, sometimes spelledlatka) are potato pancakes thatAshkenazi Jews have prepared as part of theHanukkah festival[11] since the mid-1800s,[12] when a series of crop failures in Poland and Ukraine led to mass planting of potatoes, which were easy and cheap to grow. The potato dish is based on an older variant made with cheese instead of potatoes that goes back to at least the Middle Ages.[13]
Latkes need not necessarily be made from potatoes. Prior to the introduction of the potato to the Old World, latkes were and in some places still are made from a variety of other vegetables, cheeses, legumes, or starches, depending on the available local ingredients and foods of the various places where Jews lived.[14] Numerous modern recipes call for the addition of ingredients such as onions and carrots.[15][16] Daily variations on a simple potatolatka might includezucchini,sweet onion andgruyere (forFrench onion flavor) and some variations made with sweet potatoes.[17]
The wordlatke itself is derived (via Yiddish) from theEast Slavic wordladka,oladka, a diminutive fromoladya (оладья), "small pancake". The wordlevivah (לביבה), the Hebrew name for latke, refers in theBook of Samuel to a dumpling made from kneaded dough, as part of the story ofAmnon andTamar.[18]Some interpreters have noted that the homonymlevav (לבב) means "heart", and the verbal form of l-v-v occurs in theSong of Songs as well. In the lexicon of Ashkenazi Jews fromUdmurtia andTatarstan there are recorded versions of the kosher-style appellation of latkes (draniki,dranki,krezliki,kremzliki,kakorki, etc.) during the eight-dayHanukkah holiday.[19]
Gamja-jeon (감자전;lit. "potato pancake") is aKorean pancake made by pan-frying in oil the mixture of grated potato and potato starch. It can be made without additional ingredients, but is sometimes mixed with onion, chilli and perilla leaf. Generally, it is seasoned with a small amount of salt and served with soy sauce.
Potato pancakes, literally translated inPolish asplacki ziemniaczane, are often served in Poland topped with meat sauce, pork crisps orgoulash, as well assour cream,apple sauce, mushroom sauce,[20] and cottage or sheep'scheese or even fruit syrup.Placki ziemniaczane was a food staple at the 17th-century Polish monasteries according to written recipe from Stoczek Warmiński with one onion, two eggs and a spoonful of wheat flour per each kilogram of potatoes, served only with salt and pepper.[21] In the 19th century,[22] especially in times of economic difficulty during theforeign partitions, potato pancakes often replaced missing bread among the peasants. The lower-quality crops given to field laborers were sometimes turned by them quickly into pancakes to improve taste and prolong freshness.[23] Also, their popularity is closely associated with the historic presence of one of the largest Jewish communities in the world flourishing in Poland.[22]
The largest potato pancake (possibly in the world), measuring 2 meters and 2 centimeters, was made during the annual two-day celebrations ofŚwit Plinzy (Plinza Dawn festival) inRzechta, Poland (see photo). The tongue-in-cheek games in Rzechta include the throwing of bad potato pancake, with the record of 29 meters.[24]
A derived dish consists of thick goulash laid on a potato pancake. It has origins in or nearTatra mountains, on either Polish or Slovak side. The dish bears a variety of names:
A Czech potato pancake is calledbramborák (frombrambor, potato) and it is made of grated potatoes with egg, breadcrumbs or flour and seasoning (salt, pepper, most importantly garlic andmarjoram; sometimes ground, cracked or wholecaraway seeds) and is served as it is (see recipe). Some regional versions blend in dough,sauerkraut or sliced smoked meat. The same potato dough is used also as coating of fried pork chop calledkaplický řízek. It is sometimesdeep fried.
InIranian cuisine,kuku sib-zamini (Gilaki:کوکو سیب زمینی, 'potatokuku') is made with shredded potatoes, eggs, onion, saffron, sometimes garlic chives and sometimes cinnamon. Frequently, potato kuku is cooked as smaller patties, but it is also cooked in a larger pancake-style or baked.[25] This dish has been compared[by whom?] to thelatke,rösti andtortilla Española (Spanish omelette).
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