German Potato Pancakes (Reibekuchen)

Ingredients

• 1 pound of potatoes
• 1 small onion
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of pepper (if you want savory pancakes)
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 medium-sized egg
• oil for frying

Instructions

1. Wash and peel one pound of potatoes and peel one small onion.
2. Grate the potatoes into a bowl using the grating side (the side everyone knows about and uses to grate cheese) of a four-sided grater. Grate the onion, too. If grating the onion doesn’t work, you can very finely chop it with a knife.
3. If there is excess water in the potatoes (it drips out when squeezed in the hand), drain some of the potato water.
4. Add one pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper if you want the pancakes savory, flour, and the egg.
5. Mix everything together until the batter is well mixed. This works best if you do it with your (clean) hands.
6. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan and add two tablespoons of batter per pancake. Make sure the pancake is not too thick or too large to ensure proper cooking. You probably won’t be able to fit more than 2-4 pancakes into your pan at the same time.
7. Cook until both sides are golden brown (3-4 minutes per side), then remove them from the pan. Put them on a paper towel or similar to allow the oil to absorb. You can then put the pancakes in the preheated oven to keep them warm.
8. Repeat the process with the rest of the batter. Add more oil as needed.
9. Serve immediately with apple sauce for a sweet taste or sour cream, yoghurt, or quark for a savory taste.

Notes

• Definitely eat these potato pancakes hot because they just taste best hot out of the pan.
• These potato pancakes are versatile – they can be enjoyed sweet with apple sauce or savory with garlic sauce or quark.
• If you know you are going to enjoy the potato pancakes savory, you can add more salt, pepper and other spices (such as garlic powder) into the batter.

ORIGINAL recipe: Recipes from Europe