Bramboráky

The story

Bramboráky are Czech potato pancakes made from raw grated potato bound with egg and a little flour, seasoned with garlic, marjoram, salt and pepper, and fried in lard until the edges crackle. The name comes from brambora, the Czech word for potato, and almost every region has its own word for them. In Plzeň they are vošouch or cmunda; the castellan of a West Bohemian farmstead told CNN Prima News that vošouch may come from ošouchat, to scrape or rub, a nod to the grating. In Czech Silesia they are strik or striky, in the Krkonoše mountains sejkory, and elsewhere kramfleky, křápance or strouhance. Cooks argue over details. Some pour hot milk over the grated potatoes to keep them pale and tender, others skip it and fry the potatoes dry, and many families insist that marjoram must never be left out. Large pancakes the size of the pan are eaten with meat, with cabbage or plain from the pan, and in pubs smaller ones come alongside beef goulash. South Bohemia has its own stuffed version, cmunda po kaplicku. Grate the potatoes only when the pan is ready, and keep each batch warm in a low oven while you finish the rest.