Zemiakové placky

Ingredients

Potato

• 1 kgfloury potatoes
• 1onion

Binder

• 1egg
• 3 tbspplain flour
• 1 tspsalt

Seasoning

• 6 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 1 tbspdried marjoram
• 1 tspblack pepper

To fry

• lard or oil, for shallow frying

To serve

• hot, with more crushed garlic rubbed over
• or with soured cream
• or with bryndza sheep’s cheese

Directions

1. Use a full tablespoon, which will look like too much and is not. Crush it between your palms as it goes in, which releases far more aroma. More raw garlic is rubbed over the hot pancakes as they come out of the pan, which is standard.
2. Use floury potatoes, which release the starch that binds the pancakes and crisp far better than waxy ones. Grate them finely, more finely than for a Latvian pancake, since these are traditionally thinner and crisper.
3. Grate the onion in with the potato, which seasons it and slows the discolouring. Put the grated potato in a cloth and wring it out hard over a bowl. Squeeze out as much liquid as you possibly can, and a surprising amount comes out. Wet potato steams in the pan instead of frying and gives a soft grey pancake rather than a crisp one.
4. Let the squeezed-out liquid stand for two or three minutes. Pour off the water and scrape that starch back into the potato. Work quickly, since grated raw potato oxidises and darkens within minutes. Do not make the mixture ahead, since it weeps water on standing.
5. Use enough lard or oil to come a few millimetres up the sides of the pancakes. This is shallow frying rather than griddling, and a dry pan gives a pale soft result. Keep the pan at a medium heat rather than fierce. Raw potato needs a few minutes to cook through, and high heat burns the outside while the inside stays raw and starchy.
6. Spread each one to about half a centimetre thick with the back of a spoon. Make them thinner than most potato pancakes, since these are meant to be crisp rather than substantial. Do not crowd the pan as you fry. Fry for three to four minutes on the first side without touching them. Leave them alone until the underside is deep golden, since moving them early breaks them apart.
7. Turn once and fry the other side for two or three minutes. They are done when both sides are deep brown and the edges are crisp. Drain them on a rack rather than paper, so the undersides stay crisp. Now rub crushed raw garlic over each hot pancake and salt them.
8. Serve them immediately, since they soften within minutes. They are eaten plain, with soured cream, or with bryndza, the soft Slovak sheep’s cheese.

Technique

• Garlic and dried marjoram are what make them Slovak rather than generic.
• Dried marjoram is correct here rather than fresh.
• More raw garlic is rubbed over them as they come out of the pan.

Substitutions

• Oil in place of lard, though lard tastes better.
• Dried oregano at a pinch, though marjoram is milder and correct.

Variations

• Made thicker and softer, closer to a Polish placek.
• Filled with meat, as a haluškové variant.
• Served with bryndza and bacon.

Frequently asked questions

What is Zemiakové placky?

Zemiakové placky is a snack from Slovakia: garlicky fried potato pancakes.

How long does Zemiakové placky take to make?

Zemiakové placky takes 20 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 12 pancakes. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Zemiakové placky?

Yes, within limits. Oil in place of lard, though lard tastes better. Dried oregano at a pinch, though marjoram is milder and correct.

What is the most important thing to get right in Zemiakové placky?

Grate the onion in with the potato, which seasons it and slows the discolouring. Put the grated potato in a cloth and wring it out hard over a bowl. Squeeze out as much liquid as you possibly can, and a surprising amount comes out. Wet potato steams in the pan instead of frying and gives a soft grey pancake rather than a crisp one.