German Kartoffelpuffer with Smoked Trout

Ingredients

• 1 lb potatoes, grated
• 5 oz smoked trout, flaked
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tbsp olive oil or unsalted butter
• 1 small onion or 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp fresh chives
• 1/2 lemon, cut into wedges
• 1/4 cup fresh herbs, chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps

1. Grate the potatoes coarsely, then pile them into a clean kitchen towel, gather it up, and wring it out hard over a bowl. Squeeze until barely any liquid comes out; this is what makes the pancakes crisp instead of steamy.
2. Let the squeezed-out liquid stand for 2 minutes, pour off the water, and scrape the white potato starch from the bottom of the bowl back into the grated potato. That starch is the binder.
3. Mix in the chopped onion, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper, and work quickly from here, since grated potato greys as it sits.
4. Heat a generous film of the oil or butter in a wide skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. The pan must be properly hot or the pancakes absorb fat and go limp.
5. Drop in heaped tablespoons of the mixture and flatten each into a thin round with the back of a spoon, leaving space between them.
6. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes per side, without moving them, until deep golden and crisp at the edges and cooked through in the middle.
7. Drain on a rack rather than paper towels so the undersides stay crisp, and salt them while hot.
8. Stir the chives into the sour cream and serve the hot pancakes topped with the sour cream, the flaked smoked trout, the fresh herbs, and lemon wedges.

Allergen note: Contains dairy and fish.

Use the listed quantities as a guide, adjust seasoning to taste, and cook proteins to a safe internal temperature.