St. Patrick’s Day is Monday and in honor of those of us with some “Irish” in us—today’s recipe is for a delicious side dish of potato pancakes. This is a basic recipe and as shown in our picture, the simple accompaniment of sour cream and chopped scallions is our favorite. If you want to use these as a base for a larger dish, you could add smoked salmon or caviar as an indulgent topping which would make these into more of a meal and less of a side dish.
“May you have warm words on a cold evening,
a full moon on a dark night, and the road downhill all the way to your door.”
Irish Potato Pancakes
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients;
6 small baking potatoes
2 eggs
1 medium onion, finely copped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
Sour cream and chopped scallions for serving
Preparation:
Peel the potatoes and wipe them clean, but do not rinse them. Grate them using a box grater or the shredding disk of a food processor. Put the potatoes onto a clean dishtowel and squeeze as much excess moisture out as you can.
Crack the eggs into a large bowl and whisk them for about 5 seconds. Whisk in the onion, flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the shredded potatoes and stir to coat the potatoes lightly with the egg and flour mixture.
Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Using a ¼ cup scoop, spoon 3 or 4 pancakes into the skillet, being careful to leave plenty of space between the pancakes. Flatten the cakes to about ¼ inch and cook for about 3 minutes per side or until nicely browned. Remove to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with additional kosher salt and serve.
Note: If you want to partially prepare these ahead of time, cook the pancakes for only about a minute and a half per side, or until lightly browned. Refrigerate until you’re ready to cook and then finish them with about a minute a side just to warm through and finish browning. They are just as good made in advance and will be extra crispy when cooked this way.