A Brief History:
The Republic of Belarus is a land-locked country sandwiched in between Russia and Poland
Although Belarusians have a separate ethnic identity and language, they didn’t achieve sovereignty until 1991. As a result, many customs and traditions are almost inseparable from those of their neighbors, particularly Russia.
The Dish
Draniki:
The number one take away I discovered when researching for this dish is that Belarus is famous for it’s potatoes. As it they eat potatoes morning, noon, and night.
Draniki is a type of potato pancake and is by far the easiest recipe I’ve attempted so far on this journey.
This is easily one of the cheapest meals I’ve had to prepare, as I already had all the ingredients in my pantry. All you need is potatoes, onion, one egg, salt and pepper, and some butter for the pan.
I started by peeling and shredding the potatoes. I then took some paper towels and blotted out the extra moisture from the shreds (trust me, you’ll end up with a soggy mess if you don’t).
Next, I minced the onion. I didn’t use the whole onion, as I’m only making this dish for two, so I used only half.
I added the potatoes and onion to a bowl. I added the egg, salt, and pepper and gave it a mix.
I heated up a couple of pats of butter in my trusty cast-iron skillet and set to frying these babies up. I spooned pancake-sized globs of the batter into the pan and cooked about six minutes on each side.
Normally, this is served with sour cream; however, I am not the biggest fan of the stuff, so I topped my cakes with some dried dill. Fresh would have been better, but I didn’t want to make an extra trip to the store. I plated our servings and took my first bite and…
I have to say this was lacking any real flavor. I’m all for a quick and easy struggle meal, but I had to go against tradition and throw some hot sauce on mine just to make it palatable
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Serves
2
Ingredients
- 2 medium-sized russet potatoes
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter, for the pan
- Sour cream and dill, for serving (optional)
Steps
1
Wash, peel, and finely shred the potatoes.
2
Peel the onion and finely mince.
3
Add potatoes, onion, egg, salt, and pepper to a bowl. Mix thoroughly.
4
Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Spoon pancake-sized portions of the mixture into the pan and cook for six minutes on each side.
5
Garnish with sour cream and dill weed, if desired, and enjoy.