Potato Pancake Filled with Smoked Meat and Sauerkraut

Stuffed potato pancake with smoked meat and sauerkraut, served on a plate with a fork.

Potato Pancake Filled with Smoked Meat and Sauerkraut

In this recipe, I am happy to feature a local dish from South Bohemia called "Cmunda po Kaplicku". The dish consists of a folded, garlic-scented potato pancake with smoked meat and sauerkraut nestled inside.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Czech

Keyword Potato recipes

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Servings pancakes

Calories 484kcal

Author Petra Kupská

Ingredients

3 slices fully cooked smoked meat each about 5 ounces/140 g - e.g., smoked ham or pork chops
7 ounces sauerkraut (200 g) Czech, German or Polish style

Potato pancakes:

1 ½ pounds raw potatoes (680 g) Yukon gold or Russets
⅓ cup whole milk (80 ml) hot
2 eggs
5 cloves garlic
½ Tablespoon dried marjoram
6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper ground
3 Teaspoons lard or sunflower/rapeseed oil, to fry pancakes

Instructions

First, make a batter for potato pancakes. Peel the potatoes and shred them finely. Squeeze out excess water. Put the potato shreds in a large bowl and pour the hot milk over them. Add peeled and pressed garlic, eggs, salt, dried marjoram, ground pepper, and flour. Stir until combined and a semi-fluid batter forms.
In a non-stick frying pan about 10 inches (25 cm) in diameter, heat a tablespoon of lard or fat over medium-high heat. Scoop the potato dough with a ladle, pour it into the pan, and spread it in a thin layer. Fry each side until golden brown; it takes about two minutes to fry each side of the pancake. Transfer the fried potato pancakes to a plate lined with paper towels to drain the excess fat. Keep the pancakes warm.
Heat the slices of smoked meat. Heat half a tablespoon of lard or fat in a frying pan over medium-high heat, and fry the meat briefly on both sides. Reduce the heat to one-third, add four tablespoons of water, and let the meat heat through for another five minutes. Halfway through, flip the meat. Put the meat aside and keep it warm, like potato pancakes. Do not pour off any liquid left in the pan after heating the meat!
Drain the sauerkraut and, if necessary, cut it into shorter strips. Put it in the same pan in which you previously heated the meat. Heat the sauerkraut over medium-high heat for three to five minutes. Stir occasionally. Season sauerkraut to taste. If it is too sour, add a teaspoon of sugar.
Time to put together the final dish! Place a potato pancake on the plate. Put the warmed, smoked meat on the right half and top with sauerkraut. Finally, fold the potato pancake, so the meat and sauerkraut peek out a little.

Notes

Makes 3 filled potato pancakes.
SERVING: Serve Kaplice cmunda warm as a hearty lunch or dinner. To lighten up the meal, put fresh veggies or a homemade vegetable salad alongside the stuffed potato pancake.
A single-serving potato pancake should be about 10 inches (25 centimeters) in diameter. Don't make it too thick, so it folds well.
The warm potato pancake has crispy edges. Once it cools, the pancake softens, but it's still good if you eat it just like that on its own.

Nutrition