Jacque Pepin's Potato Lace

My book of handwritten recipes says I wrote this recipe down from Women's Day - definitely something I got from the circulating magazine library in Chennai. It was all hit and miss what you would get each month under the category of "Foreign publications"! But atleast you would get a wide variety of magazines to read each week at a fixed monthly rate.....I have yet to come across something like that in other cities.

This is a really nice pancake recipe for those lazy Sunday mornings when you feel like having something more substantial than an omelet but a little less daunting than brunch.

Some potatoes, onions, eggs and flour and you're set. This recipe is by Jacque's Pepin, a native of France who became a widely respected chef starting out at age 13 as an apprentice in the family restaurant. He was extremely popular in America with his TV shows and cookbooks.

You can see the original recipe here and also here where it also mention's the fact that this was the recipe his mother used in her restaurant! So, maybe it should be called Jacque Pepin's Maman's recipe....

Potato Lace

Recipe adapted from Jacque Pepin's recipe

Ingredients:

Onions - 2 large

Potatoes -4 peeled

Eggs - 3 small

Flour - 3 tbsp

Coriander - 1/4 cup washed and chopped

salt - 1 tsp

Freshly crushed black peppercorns - 1 tbsp

Oil - to shallow fry the pancakes

1. Puree onions in a blender.

2. Shred potatoes in a grater using the bigger holes. Use a potato ricer if possible. S

queeze out as much of the moisture out of the potatoes as possible, using paper towels if needed. Removing the moisture removes the starch also, and that makes the pancakes crispy.

3. Mix the flour, eggs, grated potatoes, pureed onions, chopped coriander, salt and pepper in a bowl till well blended. The batter will be thick but of dropping consistency, add a tsp of milk if needed.

4. Take a deep nonstick skillet, pour about 1 tbsp oil and heat it.

5. Pour about 3 tbsp of batter in the skillet and spread immediately with the back of a spoon like a dosai, as thin as possible. It will have tiny holes and jagged edges.

6. Cook over medium heat for about 1/2 a minute to 1 minute on each side till crisp. Serve immediately.

7. Make the remaining pancakes in the same way, 1 tbsp of oil should be able to take care of a batch of 3-4 pancakes.

These need to be eaten immediately while they are still crisp to get the best taste.