Comments on: Potato pancakes – dinner for less than $1

By: Tabatha

Tabatha — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:47:07 +0000

A few recipe tweaks…

Instead of flour you can use the potato starch: Squeeze the gratings onto a plate, let it sit for a minute and drain off the water. It’s not any healthier but saves a teaspoon of resources

A small amount of finely grated carrot, pumpkin or squash adds a few vitamins to the mix.

If you use a pastry brush to lightly coat the pan you don’t need as much oil.

Always serve with sour cream!

By: Gillian

Gillian — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 00:11:09 +0000

An Irish version has much less fat and is a bit different from your own, we call it fadge or potatoe bread. Take left over mashed potatoes and combine with flour until a dough forms. Roll out and cut into wedges or aquares about the size of a deck of cards and about an 1/4 ” or 1 centimeter thick. Fry on a dry griddle until browned on both sides. This can be eaten as is or can be refried in butter or bacon fat till crispy. We eat this for breakfast with bacon and eggs or just on it’s own. I also do pancakes a bit like your recipe but use far less oil and only one egg no flour in my recipe.

By: Och aye the noo

Och aye the noo — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:04:52 +0000

Here’s an old-fashioned and thrifty English version called ‘Bubble and Squeak’, much eaten in my childhood especially at breakfast: take leftover cooked potatoes and cabbage or similar vegetables (brussels sprouts, kale, etc), roughly mash and mix together and fry in a layer about finger-thick in a SMALL amount of oil or fat, turning frequently until nicely browned on both sides. The Irish have a version called ‘Champ’ which substitutes leeks for the cabbage.

My Welsh grandmother had a sweet version of this: take leftover dry cake, cut into slabs, fry in butter, eat hot. I can’t remember what this is called but it’s delicious and seriously bad for your arteries.

By: Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 17:32:27 +0000

Yum. Sound delicious! Is it wrong that I want to add sour cream to that heart attack pancake?

By: Ellen

Ellen — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 08:46:11 +0000

I sometimes make one large potato-pancake (rösti) in my cast iron pan on low heat. It takes only a little bit of oil to bake it in 30 minutes (flip over once and try not to break it). Each family member gets a small portion and combined with a salad it actually makes a quite healthy meal.

By: Yakezie Challenge Time « Green Panda Treehouse

Yakezie Challenge Time « Green Panda Treehouse — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 10:02:01 +0000

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By: Magda

Magda — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 03:45:04 +0000

I’m Polish and this is quite a popular dish back home. I personally love it.
If you want to make it really tasty than pour some cream over it (just a regular whipping cream, but not whipped)and sprinkle with sugar. I know it sounds weird – potatoes + onion + sugar – but it’s really good

By: Carol@inthetrenches

Carol@inthetrenches — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 03:10:17 +0000

I know it’s no longer considered healthy but I love my country cooking. Bring on the gravy! Oops, sorry, that just popped into my mind

By: frugalscholar

frugalscholar — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 02:50:13 +0000

Traditional treat for Chanukah, which celebrates a miracle involving oil. Serve with applesauce and sour cream.

By: Kate

Kate — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 02:19:47 +0000

Potato pancakes are a big favorite in my house, but you can make a healthier dish with the same ingredients.

Cook 3 large potatoes (I microwave them) and mash them with a little milk or cream.

Add one cup shredded cheddar cheese.

Saute a little onion and green pepper (2T each, minced) in some butter and add it to the potato cheese mixture.

Separate 3 eggs and add the yolks to the potato mixture.

Whip the egg whites to form soft peaks and fold them into the potatoes. Put it all in a greased casserol dish and bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes.

makes 6 servings and im my opinion tastes just as good cold as it does hot.

By: L. Marie Joseph

L. Marie Joseph — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 21:26:41 +0000

When I have a greasy meal I try to balance it out with a fruit or vegetable.

For cheap eats, you cannot go wrong with Oatmeal

By: jeffb161

jeffb161 — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 21:04:55 +0000

This meal is verboten on my low carb diet. My BG would shoot up to dangerous levels. Vegetable oil is also a terrible choice. I use organic virgin coconut oil.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:45:23 +0000

These are especially delicious when you put a small amount of bacon grease in the oil and of course cover hot crispy pancakes in ice cold apple sauce

An alternative to labor is using a juicer. In this case let the liquid settle then pour out about 3/4 and mix the starch in the bottom back into the potato pulp.

A large press lowers the time, when you want to make a large amount but takes a bit of cleaning. (what we do for large family meals to make dumplings)

By: Brooke | Dollarfrugal.com

Brooke | Dollarfrugal.com — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:19:59 +0000

We do this with leftover mashed potatoes the next day for breakfast. Delicious!

By: Jacob

Jacob — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 05:22:29 +0000

@ betsy – That’s what DW said and suggested as well, but since I didn’t think of it myself, I didn’t want to go along with her advice

By: betsy teutsch - MoneyChangesThings

betsy teutsch - MoneyChangesThings — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 03:20:33 +0000

You’re talking about latkes. You can use less oil by baking them in the oven in a non-stick jelly roll pan.
Jews eat them with sour cream for Hanukkah.
making them is definitely a pain in the butt. I always felt like it was de rigeur when my kids lived at home, but since they’ve headed out – now we don’t have to make latkes any more!

By: Jacob

Jacob — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:00:28 +0000

@diane – it’s definitely not something I would be eating very often. In fact I think I’m lazy enough to simply boil the potatoes and eat them like that.

@jane – nope, it was a bad as it could be.

@tonitigress – may I recommend boiling your own beans. In a pressure cooker it takes maybe 10 minutes with the gas on and 20 minutes total and it is somewhat cheaper than cans.

By: tonitigress

tonitigress — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 01:31:02 +0000

Hi Jacob…love your blog, I have it linked to my google homepage. I fixed a $2 healthy meal for GF and myself tonight. Cut up 1 butternut squash, baked it for 40 minutes, then covered it with a can of black beans (on sale for .66), and a small salad. It was tasty! Oh, and very frugal Thanks for all your advice, it is impacting my life…….

Toni

By: jane in sf

jane in sf — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 20:02:42 +0000

I hope you had something green & leafy with the heavy carbo load

By: diane

diane — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:14:05 +0000

I know healthy eating is more expensive than this meal but don’t you want to live long enough to continue enjoying the results of all your savings and hard work?