Course:
Main
Cuisine:
East European
Servings:
4
Wine Pairing Recommendations
This dish goes exceptionally well with Rose
Prep time:
20 min
Cook time:
15 min
Total time:
35 min
Ingredients
- 4 medium size Russet (Idaho) potatoes, grated or shredded
- 2 medium size eggs
- 2 small yellow onions, chopped
- 1 tbsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste,
- 1 tsp black pepper, or to taste
- Sunflower or grape-seed oil for frying.
Method
- Grate potatoes on a grater that has smaller shredding holes, not to be confused with zester that looks like teeth.
- Pour shredded potatoes onto the strainer. Let the potato liquid drain.
- While the shredded potatoes drain, finely chop onions in a food processor*. Reserve with the onion juices.
- Mix shredded potatoes, chopped onion, eggs, and spices.
- Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Pour cooking oil onto a pan to shallow fry the pancakes. As a guide, oil should be about ¼ inch deep.
- Using a large spoon, such as a serving spoon, scoop the potato mixture and ladle it onto the hot fry pan to form a pancake. Take great care not to burn yourself, as the oil will splatter. Repeat this step for the next pancake. Do not overcrowd the fry pan.
- Fry on one side till golden brown and crisp, about 4 – 5 minutes. Flip and fry on the other side for additional 3-4 minutes, till golden brown and crisp.
- Serve warm with mango chutney and lightly roasted guanciale or pork belly.
* If you do not have a food processor, you can grate onions using the same size grater as the one used for potatoes.
Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Potato will turn brown as soon as you shred it. It is normal and nothing to worry about.
- If your fry pan is not large enough, you will need to fry pancakes in batches. Tent the prepared pancakes with foil to keep them warm while you cook the remaining pancakes.
- The real Ukrainian deruny* do not require the use of flour or breadcrumbs. This is a secret that makes deruny so light, fluffy and delicious!
- Prepared deruny can be reheated in a casserole the next day. They may lose their crispiness but will remain tasty.
*Deruny (plural) – traditional Ukrainian potato pancakes, sometimes called “kartopljaniky”, same as “latkes”.