Classic Potato Pancakes – Kartoffelpfannkuchen, Reibekuchen

Classic Potato Pancakes are called Kartoffelpfannkuchen, Kartoffelpuffer or Reibekuchen in Germany.

Ingredients for Classic Potato Pancakes:

• 2 kg (4.4 lb.) of potatoes
• 2 medium sized onions
• 1 leveled teaspoon of salt
• 3 eggs XL
• 80 g–100 g (2.8 oz–3.4 oz) of all-purpose flour (actual amount depends on size of eggs)
• sunflower oil

Preparation:

Wash and peel the potatoes. Use a grater (the side with the small holes) or a mandolin slicer (using the fine insert) and grate the potatoes in a bowl. Peel onion, cut in half, and grate. In a colander, add the onions to the potatoes. Allow them to drain.

                     

Place the potatoes and onions in a bowl. Add eggs, flour, and salt. Mix all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon and your batter is ready. Make sure that you leave your wooden spoon in the batter to be able to stir from time to time while frying.

Heat the oil in your frying pan. Make sure the surface of your pan is completely coated with oil. If your stove top is not entirely even, add more oil to the pan.

Place a heaping tablespoon of batter in the pan and flatten it out with the back of your tablespoon. You can fry 3 or 4 pancakes in the frying pan simultaneously, but make sure there is space in between the pancakes. After two to three minutes (depending on how hot your oil is) turn the Potato Pancakes over  using two turner spatulas and fry them on the other side. Keep the oil close at hand as you may need to replenish oil while frying.

                     

Place the cooked Potato Pancakes on a serving plate, until you have finished frying the rest of your batter. Serve the pancakes with Oma’s Homemade Applesauce or as a delicious side dish to my Lentil Soup or  Split Pea Soup. They all go great together. Enjoy!

Note: If you haven’t used all the dough, you have three possibilities to store it:

First option: Tightly cover the mixture with cellophane wrap. Even though the top of the mixture will unavoidably turn brown, the dough underneath is still fresh. Just carefully remove with a spoon before making the pancakes.

Second option: Lightly fry the pancakes on both sides and keep them in the refrigerator until your ready to cook fully.

Third option: After finishing cooking the pancakes, wrap them tightly in aluminum foil and then place them in a freezer bag before freezing.