Side · Russian
Draniki
I tend to think of sides as afterthoughts, but this one has ended up as the thing I remember most from the meal more than once.
Method
- 1.Peel the potatoes and grate them on the fine side of a box grater, or pulse them in a food processor until you have a rough, wet mush. Grate the onion straight in on top — the onion has acids that slow the potatoes from turning brown, which is why it needs to happen fast.
- 2.Tip everything into a clean tea towel, gather it up and wring it out hard over the sink. Keep wringing until the drips are slow and reluctant. You want the potato dry — this is the difference between a crisp dranik and a sad soggy one.
- 3.Scrape the squeezed potato into a bowl, crack in the egg, sprinkle over the flour, and season with a good pinch of salt and plenty of pepper. Stir it together quickly with a fork. The mixture should hold together when you scoop it but still feel loose.
- 4.Heat a generous slick of oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Don't skimp on the oil — draniki are essentially shallow-fried, and a dry pan will stick and steam them.
- 5.Drop tablespoons of the mixture into the hot oil, flattening each one into a rough disc with the back of the spoon. Don't crowd the pan; work in batches of three or four.
- 6.Fry for around three minutes a side, until the undersides are a deep mahogany brown and crisp at the edges. Flip carefully and cook the other side. The first one is always a test; the rest will be better.
- 7.Lift them onto kitchen paper to drain briefly, then straight onto warm plates. Eat them hot, with a big spoonful of cold sour cream and a scatter of chopped dill. Anything else is a bonus.
Notes
Don't skip resting things that need resting. I always want to, and I'm always wrong to.
Salt earlier than you think and more than you're comfortable with. Then taste.
