Russian potato pancakes are similar to fritters but in my version, I mash them in a food processor or blender along with onion and seasonings. These cakes are delicious and creamy on the inside with a pan-fried crispy exterior.
It’s as if the hash brown and pancake decided to join culinary forces, resulting in this potato-rich pancake - a delicious addition to the breakfast table or to be served for brunch.
These pancakes have many different names, Mashed Potato pancakes, Latkes, and Polish potato pancakes - all of these traditional recipes are very similar but with minor changes to the process and ingredients.
You could add some cheese and ground sausage to make stuffed potato pancakes or simply a little seasoning goes a long way.
Enjoy them as a delicious side dish dipped into creamy Avocado Dip or make a bunch to serve as the main course with Cucumber Salad or Caesar salad on the side.
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What are Potato Pancakes?
Draniki recipe. Did you know that Russian-style potato pancakes are called Draniki? These are usually made by medium grating the starchy potatoes and cooking them ''fritters style''. Many recipes often add extra items in the batter like cheese onions, and scallions.
In this version, I skip the manual grating and use the food processor for that. How finely you ''grate'' these are totally up to you, but just make sure it is not very smooth like mashed potatoes. Although you can, they may fall apart more easily.
Ingredients
- Potatoes - I’ve used large Russet potatoes for these pancakes as Russets are high in starch needed for holding the pancakes together. You could use another high-starch potato though such as Idahos.
- Onion - You will need a small brown or yellow onion that’s roughly chopped. Alternatively, fresh chopped green onions can be used instead. You'll need 3-4 stalks.
- Large Eggs - Bring your eggs to room temperature before combining them with the potato mixture and flour for better incorporation.
- Flour - all-purpose or gluten-free flours with xantham gum can be used here.
- Seasoning - Salt, pepper, and garlic powder are the simple ingredients I use to make these cakes. If you have some seasoned salt, even better!
- Oil - You can use any frying oil of your choice. I like Canola, Avocado, or Grapeseed oil. Make sure that the oil selected has no distinct taste (any neutral oil) to it and has a high smoke point. I don't recommend sunflower oil, it has a very strong smell and flavor to it which will ruin our beautiful Russian potato pancakes. While you could use butter instead, I find that it tends to brown too quickly when frying food in a skillet or pan, transferring a burnt taste to the food and possible dark marks too.
- I highly recommend using a good nonstick skillet for these potato cakes as they tend to easily stick to the pan. Do not use stainless steel as everything will be burnt.
For the full list of ingredients, please scroll down to where you'll find the recipe card.
Instructions
In a food processor or blender add roughly chopped raw potatoes and onions. Pulse until smooth or leave a few chunks here and there. It is totally up to you which texture you'd like in the end.
Alternatively, you can use a box grater to medium grate the potatoes and onions (optional, these can be just diced very small too).
Place the potato mixture into a clean kitchen towel (or a fine mesh strainer or a cheesecloth) and squeeze all of the liquid into a large bowl.
Discard the liquid and keep the potato starch that you’ll find in the bottom of the bowl. It helps the potato pancakes stay together. Don't skip this step, as too much liquid in potatoes will cause the pancakes to fall apart.
Add the drained potato mixture with starch to a large mixing bowl. Add flour, eggs, and seasonings. Stir to combine.
In a nonstick pan over medium-high heat add a tablespoon of oil. Once it's hot and sizzling, slowly drop 2 tablespoons of potato batter into the pan.
Gently press down with the back of the spoon (instead of spreading the batter out, please see notes) and fry the pancakes for 2-3 minutes on both sides until golden brown and crispy.
Don’t overcrowd the pan, you’ll need to do it in batches.
Don’t forget to wipe down the browned bits from the pan and add more oil if needed between the batches. Traditionally, in Russian household these are cooked in a lot of oil which I don't like to do.
Transfer the cooked pancakes to a plate lined with paper towels to remove the excess moisture.
PRO TIP: To avoid soggy pancakes keep them separate from each other either on a large platter, baking sheet or with some parchment paper and kitchen paper in between.
Traditional potato cakes are served with a dollop of sour cream and fresh herbs. I like these savory but if you like them sweeter, try apple sauce for serving instead.
Tips
- Toppings for potato pancakes - essentially these are savory pancakes and the best toppings in my opinion would be sour cream (plain or with herbs), spinach cream cheese dip, the famous fry sauce, or any dipping sauce that you would normally use for fritters and fries. In addition, sprinkle fresh herbs or scallions on top. Also, some folks like them sweet by serving with apple sauce, berry jam, or caramel sauce. In this case, I'd use less salt when frying these and in addition to the rest of the ingredients add a little sugar or maple syrup/honey to your potato pancake batter.
- While latkes are traditionally made with grated potatoes, I’ve found that the food processor makes the task much easier as well as creates a smoother texture.
- A great way to reduce mess is to place the freshly fried latkes on a cooling rack above a paper-lined baking pan to catch any drippings.
- Use a large skillet to avoid overcrowding the pan and let the cakes cook evenly leaving enough space for them to ''breathe''. This will help with the crisp exterior and even cooking
- If you don’t have a food processor you can use a hand-held grater to grate the potatoes and onions. It’s definitely a bit of a workout and won’t yield as smooth a texture as a food processor but it’s still an option.
- The key to getting crispy latkes is to remove as much excess liquid from the potato mixture as possible. You can use a kitchen towel, cheesecloth, or other finer strainer for this purpose.
- Vegetable Oil - I generally use oils with high smoke points such as grapeseed or avocado oil.
- Little oil needed - We are not deep frying here and the method is similar to cooking pancakes where only just a little oil or butter is needed.
- This recipe works great on its own as well as served as a side dish to many main course recipes. For something sweeter, we like our Mashed Sweet Potatoes with brown sugar.
- Oil temperature - It is important to find the right temperature as with very hot oil you'll not be able to spread or change the shape of the pancake at all. And with not enough hot oil the batter will spread out way too much.
- To keep your potato pancakes warm while you continue cooking the rest of the batches, add fried cakes to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Keep warm in preheated oven until serving.
Freezing and Storing Instructions
These Russian potato pancakes are best enjoyed right away. Keep the latkes warm in the oven while you finish the batches. Make as much as you'd consume but in case leftovers keep them in the fridge for 2 days in an airtight container.
Separate each potato pancake with parchment paper or kitchen towels. For the freezer, tightly cover t the pancakes with plastic wrap and store them for up to 2 months. Thaw and reheat in the oven or over low heat in the pan with a little butter.
How to reheat potato pancakes - your first option is to reheat on the stovetop on medium-low heat with a little butter or oil. Just until they are warm. Alternatively rheat in microwave in 30 minute increments or in the preheated oven at 400 degrees F. Cover them with foil while in the oven so they don't dry out.
Thank you so much for reading about how to make Russian potato pancakes. Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have! I love reading your feedback.
Rita
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Russian Potato Pancakes (In Food Processor)
Ingredients
Potato Cakes
- 4 large Russet potatoes roughly chopped
- 1 small brown onion roughly chopped
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- Cooking oil for frying
For Serving
- Herbs Green onion, Dill, Parsley
- Sour cream
Instructions
- In a food processor add roughly chopped raw potatoes and onions. Pulse until smooth or leave a few chunks here and there. It is totally up to you which texture you'd like in the end. Alternatively, you can use a box grater to medium grate the potatoes and onions (optional, these can be just diced very small too).
- Place the potato mixture into a clean kitchen towel (or a fine mesh strainer or a cheesecloth) and squeeze all of the liquid into a large bowl. Discard the liquid and keep the potato starch that you’ll find in the bottom of the bowl. It helps the potato pancakes stay together. Can't skip this step as too much liquid in potatoes will cause the pancakes to fall apart.
- Add the drained potato mixture with starch to a large mixing bowl. Add flour, eggs, and seasonings. Stir to combine.
- In a nonstick pan over medium-high heat add a tablespoon of oil. Once it's hot and sizzling, slowly drop 2 tablespoons of potato batter into the pan. Gently press down with the back of the spoon (instead of spreading the batter out, please see notes) and fry the pancakes for 2-3 minutes on both sides until golden brown and crispy. Don’t overcrowd the pan, you’ll need to do it in batches.
- Don’t forget to wipe down the browned bits from the pan and add more oil if needed between the batches.
- Transfer the cooked pancakes to a plate lined with paper towels to remove the excess moisture. PRO TIP: To avoid soggy latkes keep them separate from each other either on a large platter or with some parchment paper and kitchen paper in between.
- Traditional potato latkes are served with a dollop of sour cream and fresh herbs. I like these savory but if you like them sweeter, try apple sauce for serving instead.
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Easy and delicious breakfast alternative to traditional sweet pancakes!