Slovak potato pancakes, also known as "Zemiakové placky" or "Lokshe", are a traditional dish from Slovakia. These pancakes or tortillas are made from a batter of potatoes, flour, and herbs. They are eaten both savory and sweet.

The process of making these potato pancakes is quite simple: you peel and grate the cooked potatoes, mix them with flour, garlic, and other herbs, and fry them in a pan until they are nicely browned and cooked through. They are perfect for both a simple meal and a festive dinner, such as Christmas.

How to make Slovak potato pancakes?

These Slovak potato pancakes contain only two main ingredients: cooked and grated potatoes and flour. Simple in itself, but there are a few things to pay attention to.

Cooking and Grating the Potatoes

In the first step, we cook the potatoes with the skins on. They don't need to be fully cooked because we'll be frying the pancakes in the pan later.

When the potatoes are cooked, we rinse them under cold water. Then we remove the thin skin. Finally, we grate the potatoes finely.

What to Watch Out for with the Potatoes

It's important to use old potatoes for Slovak potato pancakes because they contain less moisture. Less moisture means you'll need less flour for the dough, and less flour means more potato flavor, which is what we want. Young potatoes might be too moist, which means you'll need more flour, and the pancakes will taste too much like flour. So it's ideal to use leftover old potatoes!

Speaking of using up leftovers, this is also perfect for making good use of leftover mashed potatoes. Mix them with the flour to form a nice dough and make delicious potato pancakes from them.

Making the Dough for Slovak Potato Pancakes

Now that the potatoes are ready, we can make the dough. To do this, we mix the grated potatoes with the flour. Add spices to taste: salt, pepper, garlic, marjoram, etc. Then it's time to knead. We knead the dough until it is cohesive and no longer sticks. Depending on the moisture content of your potatoes, you may need to add a bit more flour.

Sprinkle a work surface with flour. We're going to roll out the dough into a roll. From that roll, we cut about ten pieces of dough, which we then turn into pancakes.

Take out the rolling pin and also dust it with flour. Roll the dough balls into small thin pancakes.

Note that you cannot prepare the dough in advance. So, you must also fry the pancakes immediately after making the dough.

Frying Slovak Potato Pancakes

Heat a (pancake) pan over a fire. Important: do not use any oil or greasing! When the pan is hot, we place the pancakes directly into the pan. If a lot of flour sticks to the pancake, you can gently shake it off beforehand. We'll fry them for two to three minutes on each side, until they get brown spots.

Your pancakes may puff up while frying. Don't panic; this is not a problem. You can prick them with a fork to release the steam if needed. When you remove them from the heat, they'll shrink back down.

It might be unavoidable that some flour flies around. If the pan is covered in flour, you can gently wipe it off with a dry cloth.

After two to three minutes, your delicious Slovak potato pancakes will be ready.

What to eat with Slovak potato pancakes?

Slovak potato pancakes are incredibly versatile and can be served both sweet and savory. Here are some suggestions:

Savory Options

With Sauerkraut and Bacon: A classic savory combination where the potato pancakes are served with sauerkraut and crispy fried bacon.
With Sour Cream and Garlic: Another popular savory option is to serve them with sour cream mixed with garlic and herbs such as dill or chives.
With Cheese: Serve the pancakes with grated cheese and optionally some smoked ham or mushrooms.
Liver and Fat: Serve the pancakes with fried liver and lard for a rich, traditional meal. See also my recipe for poultry liver with potato pancakes.
Herbs and Spices: Add extra herbs and spices to the liver for an even more intense flavor.

Sweet Options:

With Sugar and Cinnamon: Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over the pancakes for a simple but delicious sweet variant.
With Applesauce: Potato pancakes are also delicious with a generous spoonful of applesauce.
With Honey or Syrup: Another sweet option is to drizzle the pancakes with honey or syrup.
For Breakfast: With chocolate spread or jam.
With sugar and poppy seeds.

Whether you serve them savory or sweet, Slovak potato pancakes are a versatile dish that you can enjoy in many different ways. Try different combinations to find your favorite!

Read more about Lokshe in the following articles:

More surprising.potato

For a long time, I avoided potatoes, with the exception of fries, perhaps. Probably because I've had too much of the classic preparations in the past. But meanwhile, I discovered new ways to make potatoes that are really exiting. Here are a few examples of that:

If you speak Dutch, you can find the Dutch version of this recipe on gerechtenweb.blog.