Draniki

Ingredients

• 1 kg floury potatoes
• 1 small onion
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 100 ml sunflower oil for frying
• 200 g smetana or sour cream, to serve
• 2 tbsp chopped dill

Before you cook

• Peel the potatoes and keep them in cold water until you are ready to grate them.
• Peel the onion.
• Chop the dill.

Steps

1. Grate the potatoes on the fine side of a box grater into a large bowl.
2. Grate the onion straight into the same bowl, which keeps the potato from turning grey.
3. Tip the mixture into a sieve set over a bowl and press out the liquid, but do not squeeze it bone dry.
4. Let the drained liquid stand for 2 minutes, then pour off the water and keep the white starch left at the bottom.
5. Stir that starch back into the grated potato with the egg, flour, salt and pepper.
6. Heat a 3 mm depth of oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat until a shred of potato sizzles instantly.
7. Drop in tablespoons of the mixture and flatten each one into a thin round about 8 cm across.
8. Fry them for 3 minutes, until the underside is deep gold and the edges have gone lacy.
9. Turn them and fry the second side for 2 minutes.
10. Drain them on kitchen paper and fry the rest, topping up the oil between batches.
11. Serve the draniki hot with cold sour cream and chopped dill.