Draniki (potato pancakes)

After its vague and short-lived attempt at Spring, Manchester has gone drizzly and miserable again, and if there's one thing guaranteed to make me crave comfort food, it's miserable weather.

 

This recipe is for a traditional Russian/Belarusian dish of Draniki, or potato pancakes. In fact, according to wikipedia, variants of this item are fairly common in the cuisines of countries across Central and Eastern Europe and beyond, and when you've tasted them, it will be obvious why they enjoy such widespread popularity.

 

When I've had these in Russia and Belarus, the traditional accompaniment is sour cream. However, I've also had them with vegetable slaw (in Russia) and apple puree (German style). Here's the basic recipe for the Draniki, together with two alternative condiments to serve them with. Although these are best served fresh, they can be reheated and still taste pretty darn good. Though I have to admit, I've rarely experienced a case of leftover Draniki... just sayin'.

 

Draniki

 

Ingredients:

1kg potato, peeled

1 onion

1 tblsp plain flour

1 medium egg

a liberal amount of sunflower oil

 

Method:

1. Grate the potato and onion. Considering that Draniki are a traditional peasant dish, the idea of doing this manually fills me with dread - if you've got a processor with a grater attachment, let it take the strain!

 

2. Mix the grated vegetables with the flour and egg in a large bowl.

 

3. Heat a little oil in a good frying pan to a low-medium temperature (use several frying pans if you have them - you'll save a lot of time if you get a few on the go at once). Place a dessert spoonful of Draniki mixture into your pan, and flatten with the back of the spoon. Repeat with as many as you can fit in the pans. Gently allow the Draniki to fry without burning. You will know that they are cooking at the right kind of rate if the top side starts to go dry whrn the underside is just pale golden. At this point, flip the Draniki to cook from the other side. Make sure you keep topping up the oil, as this helps them to cook evenly.

 

4. When the Draniki are cooked through, drain them on a piece of kitchen towel. If you've still got a large batch to fry up, you can keep them warm by placing on a warmed plate and covering with tin foil, or popping in an oven on a very low heat.

 

5. When ready, serve with your choice of accompaniment.

 

 

 

 

Spiced carrot slaw

Ingredients:

2-3 medium carrots

3 pieces of stem ginger, finely chopped

1 dessert spoon of ginger syrup

 

 

Method:

1. Peel the carrots and grate finely.

2. Combine with the other ingredients, and serve. Simplicity itself!

 

 

 

 

Apple puree

 

Ingredients:

2 eating apples

dessert spoon of honey

1/2 tsp cinnamon

 

Method:

1. Peel the apples and cut into small cubes.

 

2. Put the cubed apple into a saucepan, and add enough water to rise about a third of the way up the pieces.

 

3. Simmer over a medium heat until the apple is tender, adding the honey towards the end of the cooking time.

 

4. Allow to cool slightly, then add the cinnamon and blitz to a puree. Can be served warm or chilled.

 



Aubergine Caviar and Courgette Caviar

Traditionally, Good Friday is a meat-free day, aka 'Fish Friday'. And what better way to bring this to life here than with a bit of fish free 'caviar'?

For those who don't know, I'm particularly interested in all things Russian, though I'm not sure that my interest extends to the food. Whilst the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia have yielded some pretty delicious dishes, I'm afraid that traditional Russian cuisine dosn't speak to me quite so much. Perhaps this is because (aside from soups and pickles, which are in a league of their own) traditional Russian cooking only has a limited lot to offer to vegetarians, let alone vegans.

However, there are the odd couple of things that are worth mentioning, and they come into their own when the weather turns warmer, and we start craving simpler, lighter food. These two 'caviar' recipes are inspired by Sofka Skipwith's 'Eat Russian', a charming little food and cookbook from the Soviet era. They are partcularly good served with a nice wholesome bread (here served with Marathon Bread from Barbakan), and a simple salad of tomato and cucumber or gherkin.

Aubergine Caviar and Courgette Caviar

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2 aubergines

3 courgettes

2 onions

2 tomatoes

3 tblsp sunflower oil

3 tblsp cider vinegar

salt and pepper to taste.

Method:

1. Cut the courgettes and aubergines in half lenthways and arrange, cut-side down, on baking trays with about a centimetre of hot water on the tray. Pop in the oven for about 15-20 mins at 180 degrees celcius to steam gently.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the vegetables. Firstly, you will need to skin the tomatoes. To do so, score a small cross in the top of each tomato, then submerge completely in boiled water. Leave for about 10 minutes, after which time, you can remove the tomatoes and the skin should peel off easily.Then finely chop the skinned tomatoes.

3. Whilst the tomatoes are sitting in the boiling water, very finely chop the onion.

4. When the aubergines and courgettes are steamed, remove them from the oven and allow to sit until cool enough to handle. Finely chop the flesh (keeping the courgette and the aubergine separate).

5. Set up two frying pans, and divide the oil, vinegar, onion and tomato equally between them. Add the aubergine to one pan and the courgette to the other. Gently simmeron a low heat to evaporate off any exess liquid. Allow to cool and refrigerate - serve very cold as part of a buffet dinner with bread and salad.