Zemiakové placky

Ingredients

• Potatoes — floury variety1 kg
• Garlic6 clove
• Marjoram1 tbsp
• Flour60 g
• Egg1
• Milk60 ml
• Oil for frying150 ml
• Salt and pepperto taste

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Grate the potatoes finely and squeeze them lightly, leaving some moisture in.

   15 min

2. 2

   Crush the garlic with salt into a paste and work it into the potato mass.

   6 min

3. 3

   Add the egg, milk, marjoram, pepper and flour and stir to a loose batter.

   6 min

4. 4

   Heat the oil over medium and pour in a ladle of batter, spreading it very thin.

   5 min

5. 5

   Fry three minutes a side, to a deep golden crisp crust.

   22 min

6. 6

   Drain them on a rack rather than paper and serve them at once.

   4 min

About the dish

The pancakes are fried very thin, nearly translucent at the edges. A thick placka stays raw inside and the crispness everything is for never comes.

Marjoram and garlic go in generously. In the Slovak version they are the main flavour rather than a background, and they are what separate placky from Polish or Belarusian potato pancakes.

As little flour as possible goes in, just enough to hold the mass. Every extra spoon makes the pancake taste of bread rather than potato.

Worth knowing

• — The batter has to be loose. A stiff one will not spread thin and the pancake comes out thick and raw inside.
• — There should be enough oil in the pan for the pancake to nearly float. In a dry pan it scorches without crisping.
• — They are eaten hot with more garlic on top. A cooled placka goes limp and does not reheat well.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

380 kcal

Protein

8 g

Fat

22 g

Carbs

40 g

More from Slovakia

• Bryndzové halušky — Potato dumplings with sheep's brynza and bacon crackling. Slovakia's national dish.
• Kapustnica — A soup of sauerkraut with smoked meat, sausage and dried mushrooms. The Slovak Christmas table.
• Buchty — Yeast buns with plum jam or curd, baked packed together so their sides fuse.