My sister is allergic to potatoes - not in the "let me tell the waiter I am allergic to something I don't like so that it doesn't appear on my plate" way but in the "get the ambulance, all sirens blasting, to the hospital now or else" way. Because of this, we NEVER had potatoes in the house growing up and I had rarely cooked one until I got married.
This is one of my favorite potato recipes, usually part of my brunch repertoire. For just L. and myself, I make one large pancake and cut it in half, for brunch I make individual pancakes that I keep warm in the oven. Cooking time will obviously differ; I suggest 5 minutes on each side for individual 1 potato pancakes and 8 on each side for pancakes made with 2 large potatoes.
The following is the recipe for a 2 potato, 2 person pancake.
2 large potatoes
2 tsps olive oil
1Tbsp butter
Salt to taste
Peel the potatoes and grate them lengthwise on the largest hole of a box grater. Wrap all the potato pieces in a dish towel, squeeze well over the sink to remove as much liquid as you can. You will be surprised by how much liquid you can remove.
Place 1 teaspoon of the oil and half the butter in a Teflon or seasoned skillet. Swirl it around to coat the bottom of the pan and, as soon as it has melted add the grated potato.
Press the potato so that you crate one even layer of potato that covers the entire bottom of the pan. Lower heat to very low, season well with salt, and press down again hard so that the gated potato pieces adhere to each other. Leave alone for 8 minutes.
After 8 minutes, flip the pancake by placing a plate over the top the skillet and upending the cooking pancake into it. Take this opportunity by adding the remaining oil and butter to the now empty pan and, as soon as the butter has melted, gently slide the pancake back into the pan.
Salt the surface and cook for an additional 8 minutes, though I recommend that you start checking after 5 minutes by using a spatula to gently lift the pancake and see if it is cooked through on the bottom.
Remove the pancake and set it on a couple of layers of paper towels. Cover with a paper towel and dab gently to remove excess oil.
Serve at once with sour cream or, as in the photo above with sour cream, fresh salmon roe and ramps that have been gently pickled by wilting a bunch of them along with a teaspoon of rice wine vinegar, in the hot potato pancake pan (after it was removed to the paper towels).
Clean Plate Club
(*omit the salmon roe)