German Potato Pancake Recipe
This German-styled recipe expands to include the flavors of ham and cheese and results into a garden-variety potato pancake. Farm-style made ham or cured ham is the meaty component of these potato pancakes. This ham is called “Katenspeck”, originated from the German word “Katen” which means "barn". Potato pancake was one the traditional cuisines in Germany that later became a famous and commercialized delicacy nowadays. This version of potato pancake has crispy Katenspeck, grated onion and cheese that’s always popular. Just by thinking about it stimulates your appetite and makes you hungry. So, don’t ever let your hungry mouths wait, try this recipe and please your appetite with these German Potato pancakes. You can serve these pancakes as main dish for any meal of the day.
Ingredients
- 1 kg firm peeled potatoes (1000 g)
- 1 small onion, grated
- 2½ tablespoons flour (38 g)
- ½ teaspoon salt (2.5 g)
- Fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped parsley (15 g)
- 1 sprig fresh thyme (leaves from sprig, chopped)
- 115 g ham (finely chopped)
- 85 g Emmenthaler cheese or Swiss cheese
- Canola oil
Instructions
- In a colander/strainer, coarsely grate potatoes and squeeze dry w/your hands, pressing down with the back of a ladle.
- Place grated potatoes in a mixing bowl, stir in grated onions and flour. Mix well.
- Add salt, freshly ground black pepper, herbs, and then set aside.
- In a large non-stick frying pan, sauté chopped ham until golden and crispy. Remove cooked ham from pan, but leave the excess fat in pan.
- Combine the crisped ham and cheese into the potato mixture.
- Heat 1 tbsp canola oil w/the reserved fat.
- When hot, scoop potato mixture by tablespoonfuls and flatten with the back of a spoon to a round shape as neatly as you can.
- Fry for 2-3 minutes over medium heat until bottom side is golden brown; flip to cook the other side.
- Fry the mixture in batches, add up oil as needed and make sure it is hot before frying each batch. Drain on paper towels, keep uncovered in a warm oven until all batches are cooked.
- Serve warm and enjoy.
Notes
If you don’t have Emmenthal cheese, the suggested ideal alternatives for it are American Swiss cheese, Raclette, or Alpine Lace from Wisconsin.
