I must start by confessing that the photographs that inspired me to cook this dish look way more appetising than my production and equally that I probably wouldn't cook these again. The Draniki are essentially potato pancakes - made with potato, onion, oil and salt. They were very tasty but absorbed a lot of oil, and I think if I'm going to spend calories on that much oil I'd rather have chips or a doughnut. However, they did accompany my Belgian carbonade flamande very nicely and fried potatoes are only every a good thing!
Before doing this dish all I knew about Belarus was that they still have the death penalty which prevents them from joining the EU and that my former Russian undergrad history teacher (who was awesome) used to claim that her grandfather was one of the founders of the Bolshevik party in Belarus. I did a bit of research as usual and found out that 40% of their land is covered in forest, and they traditionally show hospitality by offering bread and salt to guests, but Draniki is their national dish. I must say I think my downfall was not using potatoes with enough starch, so I can't wait to go to Belarus and try them made there!
Serves 3 (as a side)
Ingredients
2 starchy potatoes
1/4 onion
1 tsp salt
oil for frying
Method
1. Finely grate the potato and the onion - try to alternate between the potato and the onion as keeping them mixed will prevent the potato from browning. Drain any excess liquid (without squeezing the potatoes) and add salt.
2. Heat a large frying pan over medium to high heat and add oil. Once it's hot add a heaped tablespoon of the potato mix to the pan. Add as many as you can to the frying pan without overcrowding. Remember - you need space to flip them.
3. Once they are golden brown (3-4 minutes), flip and repeat. Serve with sour cream or as a side to anything you fancy.
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