Raggmunk med fläsk

The story

Raggmunk are thin potato pancakes made from raw grated potato folded into a plain batter of flour, milk and egg, then fried in butter until the shreds at the edges turn crisp and brown. They belong to husmanskost, the traditional everyday cooking of Sweden, a cuisine of cheap local staples that the grocery chain ICA traces to inns where servants' meals were kept apart from those of the gentry. Raggmunk are rarely eaten alone. The standard plate pairs them with fried slices of salted pork belly and lingonberry jam, so that salt, fat and tart fruit sit side by side. ICA's recipe uses about 2 pounds of firm potatoes and about 13 ounces of sliced salted pork for four people, and suggests frying the pancakes in the fat rendered from the pork for more flavor. Everything on the list, from potatoes and flour to milk and salt pork, is cheap and keeps well. In Stockholm, old-style restaurants such as Pelikan and Tennstopet still put raggmunk with pork and lingonberries on the menu. Set the table before you start frying, and serve the first batch while the second is in the pan.