Potato Pancakes--Polish Classic

Fall potatoes taste best, and in Poland this is the time when we start making all kinds of potato dishes. At least we used to, so I can easily name probably twenty or even more dishes featuring potatoes as their main ingredient. And I would probably call them, next to soups, our comfort food.

Last couple of years, about once in two weeks my kitchen is overtaken by potatoes pancakes, a pillar of Polish cuisine. Luckily, my sons love them, so at least on those days I can make the same dinner for both of them. They like it probably because they remind them pizza, especially when they are crispy and eaten, as they do, with ketchup.

At the same time, I should admit that until last year I have never made those pancakes myself. So far, I was always able to rely on my mother's talent when she was visiting. Not only I considered them too basic and too ordinary to make, but also when I put her in charge she felt appreciated and needed. Besides, Polish potato pancakes were literally very painful to make. Unlike the Jewish latkes, they were grated on a a very fine grater, and often times together with the outer layer of the fingers. Just recently, I adapted a very handy shortcut and started to puree raw potatoes in a food processor with a knife blade.

Because of that invention and since I make them pretty regularly for kids, I decided it is time to share this recipe. I know that every Polish cook has her or his own special recipe for potato pancakes. Also, almost each region of Poland prepares and serves them a bit differently.

My grandmother served potato pancakes with sugar, which is probably the most popular way, and sour cream on top. But later my mother started to make them only in a savory way, by adding onion to the batter and different spices. I like them them this way better and this is how my kids like them as well. Those who wish to try the most traditional version of pancakes and serve them with sugar (and cream), should omit onion and herbs in the preparation.

Potato Pancakes
(Makes 16-20 pancakes or 4 servings)

Ingredients:
4 large potatoes--baking potatoes would be best, or any other type which is starchy and not watery,
1 large egg,
1 onion,
2 tbsp all purpose flour,
1 tbsp salt,
1/2 tsp black pepper,
mix of herbs--1/4 tsp of each--paprika, dried marjoram, ground coriander, ground caraway, and ground mustard seeds (addition of herbs is optional)
vegetable oil (grape seed or rice bran oil) for frying.

Preparation:
1. Peel, wash, and dry potatoes. Cut them in small cubes and place in food processor with a knife blade. First, pulse the blender to make smaller pieces, and later run until potatoes become puree.
2. Peel onion and chop it. Add it to the food processor and run the engine a couple of times together with the potatoes.
3. Transfer the potato batter to the large bowl. If there is an extra liquid from potatoes on the surface, try to collect it with a spoon and discard.
4. Add a whole egg, flour, salt pepper, and spices if used.

5. Using wooden spoon or spatula blend well all the ingredients.

6. Preheat a large frying pan with 2 tbsp of oil until very hot. Place about a spoon of potato mixture next to each other and flatten on the top.
7. Fry for about 2-3 minutes on each side, until the pancakes become dark gold. Repeat with adding oil before each batch.

Serve warm plain, or the American way (i.e., how my kids like them with ketchup on top), or

with yogurt sauce (yogurt, garlic salt, and pepper), or

with mushroom sauce, and cucumbers in brine or cornichons.

Yogurt Plum Cake--A Simple Autumn Dessert

From what I know about the culinary world, I would risk a statement that only Polish and French, and perhaps also Italians and Hungarians, have such a great affection for plums. This may apply to all kind of plums, but in particular to these oval and dark purple one with the blueish coating on their skin, which in Poland we call Hungarian plums, and here they are called Italian plums. In France, I often ate them in classic tarts on a short or puff pastry crust. But once, many years ago, a French friend made a cake with a plum preserve. I still remember how exquisitely delicious it was--with a very thin and buttery crust that immediately dissolved in the mouth and long-cooked preserve or rather a plum butter on top. I always promise myself to email her and ask about her recipe.

When Italian plums are picked at their ripest stage, they have most aroma and flesh, and least juice of all the plums I tried. This quality makes them perfect for baking, preserving, and using for all kinds of cooking. Unlike other plums that grow all over the world and are often available all year round, Italian plums appear in my food store only for a short time in mid-September and mid-October. So I thought that they were already gone, but today I found them again in one of the stores. I bought two pounds of them and made this simple cake.

Yogurt Plum Cake

Ingredients:
2 lb Italian plums, washed,

3 eggs,
1/2 cup (150g) natural yogurt,
1 and 1/2 cup flour (250g) all purpose flour,
2 cups (300g) powdered sugar,
1/2 cup (150ml) vegetable oil,
1 and 1/4 oz (7g) sachet dry yeasts,
1 tsp vanilla extract,
juice from one lemon,
1 tbsp butter to grease the baking tin,
2 tbsp fine corn meal.

Preparation:
1. Cut washed plums in half alongside and remove the pit.
2. Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C).
3. Separate egg yolks and whites. Beat the yolks with powdered sugar until almost white. Add to that mixture yogurt, oil and lemon juice. Mix.
4. In a separate bowl combine flour and yeast and add to the batter. Mix until it becomes smooth.
5. Beat the whites until stiff. Using spatula fold them into the batter.
6. Grease the baking tin (about 9 by 13 inches) with butter. Sprinkle it with corn meal and spread the batter all over it. Place halves of plums on top, skin up.

7. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until the cake is set and light gold.

Serve dusted with icing sugar.

Pomegranate and Potato Salad--Unexpected Combination

I would think that any potato salad is such a culinary cliché that it would not be worth paying attention to. On every salad bar menu there is at least one. But I noticed recently that somehow potato salads have been undergoing a renaissance. At least, when I have guests from Europe for BBQ dinners, potato salads are a big hit.

So when I heard about this salad I could not wait to make it, also because of its other ingredients. It sure has potatoes, but for me the most exciting element in it was pomegranate, which I absolutely love. It is one of the most picturesque fruits, always looking good on photos, and also one of the most healthy, loaded with antioxidants, Vitamin K, and iron.

The pomegranate season has just begun, so this is a very opportune time to share this recipe. I am not sure where this salad comes from, but having some knowledge of Afghan cuisine I would guess that it might have come from there, although it might as well have come from Georgia, where they also love pomegranates and coriander.

I know that pomegranate can be tricky. If they are not entirely ripe their seeds have texture similar to grape seeds and not everyone enjoys them. But most of those fruits sold here are very tasty and of that have that awesome bloody color, which indicates that they are sweet and juicy. In that case, the crunchiness of the seeds should not overshadow their taste. Thanks to pomegranates, an ordinary potato salad turns into a very interesting dish, with a sweet and sour vinous taste. It goes great with cold cuts and grilled meats.

Pomegranate and Potato Salad
(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:
4 large white potatoes (about a pound),
one pomegranate,
half a medium onion,
half a cup chopped fresh coriander leaves,
3 tbsp mayonnaise,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. Cut potatoes in halves and cook them in salted water until soft. Cool down and peel them off. Cut into small cubes and place in a large bowl.
2. Peel the pomegranate and using hands shuck the seeds out of the white membranes (which are inedible). Add all the seeds to the potatoes.
3. Peel onion and slice it thinly. Add to the bowl.
4. Chop the coriander. Add to the bowl.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add mayonnaise and mix gently.