Author Notes
This recipe hails from Belarus - in eastern Europe. Sauteed mushrooms are layered between moist, grated potatoes to make crispy, flavorful draniki (a.k.a. potato pancakes). The secret is to leave them be while cooking. The more you fuss with potato pancakes, the more they break apart and refuse to brown. Also, this version uses the liquid starch that leeches out of the potato to help bind it all together... an old Belarussian technique. - Sasha @ GlobalTableAdventure —Sasha (Global Table Adventure)
Test Kitchen Notes
One bite of Sasha's satisfyingly crispy and ingeniously-stuffed potato pancakes is enough to understand why Belarus chose the latke as its national dish. Perfect for a week-night dinner or winter brunch, these pancakes are hearty but not heavy, crunchy but still tender, and totally addictive when dunked in sour cream. This recipe takes the cake! Note: The batter might seem too wet at first but it allows the pancakes to spread nicely into even circles in the pan, and enables the second layer of batter to coat the mushrooms easily. - Maddy —The Editors
Ingredients
- Mushroom Filling
-
1 ounce
dried wild mushroom blend
-
1/4 cup
minced red onion
-
1 teaspoon
fresh dill
-
salt & pepper
- For the Draniki
-
1 1/2 pounds
potatoes, peeled
-
1/4 cup
flour
-
1
egg
-
1/4 cup
milk
-
salt & pepper
-
vegetable oil, for frying
Directions
-
Rehydrate dried mushrooms according to package directions. Mince and add with onion to a pan with a little oil. Cook over medium heat until soft. Add dill and salt and pepper. Remove from pan and set aside
-
Shred potatoes using a grater, food processor, or mandoline. Add remaining ingredients and stir together.
-
Turn the oven on low. Heat about a 1/4 inch layer of oil in a large skillet over medium. Once oil sizzles when you drop a bit of potato in it, begin cooking. Spoon in draniki batter and flatten with a spoon.
-
Add a small spoonful of the mushroom mixture. Top with more draniki batter.
-
Cook until browned and no longer sticks to the bottom of the pan (this should take several minutes). Flip and cook on the other side. Hold in a warm oven while the rest of the drakini are cooked. Serve hot with sour cream.
See what other Food52ers are saying.