Traditional Crispy & Fragrant Potato Pancakes
·Peel the potatoes and garlic
Peel the potatoes, wash and pat them dry. Peel the garlic.
Grate fine and coarse
Grate the potatoes. I use both a fine and a coarse grater, grating half the potatoes finely and the other half coarsely. I like how the fine shreds thicken the batter and help hold the pancakes together, while the coarse shreds give them their crunch.
Pour over hot milk
Squeeze the excess water out of the grated potatoes and immediately pour over hot milk. This stops the potatoes from turning brown.
Season
Season with salt, pepper, caraway, marjoram and crushed garlic, then add the egg.
Adjust with flour
Mix the batter, then adjust the consistency with flour. Don't add it all at once — just enough to get the right texture. The batter should pour easily but still be slightly thick.
Heat up two pans
Heat the lard in a large frying pan — ideally in two pans at once, and non-stick ones so the pancakes don't catch. Don't worry, you'll be able to keep up, and it'll actually make the whole process go faster.
Keep it thin
Make the pancakes as thin as possible — the thinner they are, the crispier they'll turn out. Fry them over fairly high heat so they get really crisp.
Tip:
They taste best fresh and hot. As they cool, they lose their crispiness, but they're still delicious.
