Potato pancakes have been one of my favorite dishes since childhood when my mother would make them. My mother was not only a good cook, but a frugal housewife, and I’m sure that having potato pancakes now and then was not only a way to give us all a treat, but a way to save money by having a meatless meal. A supper of crispy-edged potato pancakes is still a deliciously simple and inexpensive meal.
There are two schools of thought about how potatoes should be prepared for potato pancakes. Some people like to shred the potatoes, which gives more texture to the pancakes. I like the potatoes finely grated for a smoother texture. When Mom made potato pancakes for our family, she grated the potatoes by hand on a vegetable grater. My brother and I would help peel and grate the potatoes sometimes, and I remember having painfully scraped knuckles after trying to grate too small a piece of potato. We were not allowed to put the chunks of potato into the batter because they wouldn’t cook properly, so anything that couldn’t be grated would be thrown away.
Using a Blender for Quicker Preparation of Potato Pancakes Recipe
When our boys were young, we often made potato pancakes as a Sunday night treat to end the weekend. While we sometimes had a side of sausage, usually potato pancakes were just served with plenty of homemade applesauce and sour cream.
As teenagers, our boys could devour endless helpings of potato pancakes, and preparing the grated potatoes by hand was just too time consuming. I looked for an easier and quicker way to make them, and came upon a recipe that could be prepared in my blender. I’ve used this recipe for years to make potato pancakes just like Mom used to make – only easier!
Depending on the appetites at your dinner table, you can increase this recipe proportionately. If everything doesn’t fit into the blender at one time, process whatever will fit into the blender, pour it into a large bowl and blend the rest. Then just mix it all together to be sure the ingredients are evenly distributed.. This method works well if you are doubling the recipe for a larger group or bigger appetites.
Ingredients for Blender Potato Pancakes
5-6 cups raw potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 eggs
1 small onion
2 tsp. salt
3 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions for Blender Potato Pancakes
1. Place onion, eggs, four, salt, baking powder and half the potatoes into the blender and turn on pulse until batter is well blended.
2. Empty all but a cupful into a bowl and add the remaining potatoes to the blender. Blend until smooth and empty into the bowl. Mix the two batches together so that all ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
3. Heat about 3 or 4 tablespoons of oil in a skillet on medium high heat. When oil is hot, ladle batter into skillet using about 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake. I usually make pancakes about 3-4 inches across, but that's a matter of personal preference. If you're feeding several people, you may want to use two skillets or a pancake griddle so that you can cook more at a time.
4. Fry pancakes for about 1-2 minutes until the top looks dry, then turn and fry on the other side for a minute or two. Serve immediately.