Grandma Kadrichka's Patatnik from Trigrad
Ten years ago in Trigrad a herd of progressively minded psychologists, psychotherapists and doctors (all from the helping professions) gathered to combine business with pleasure. In short – something like a conference, but without the glitz of hotels, without corporate airs, close to nature and in the heart of the Rhodopes. Our host was Grandma Kadrichka, who saw to it that within a week we were 5-10 kg heavier. She is an exceptionally strong yet soft and warm woman who radiates kindness and gentleness. She cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner for us and let us come into her kitchen to watch her work her magic. A woman with a hard fate, but open to the world and to people and ready to share and teach us. It became a tradition for our tight-knit madhouse to hold a 'Summer School' in Trigrad and we returned every year to Grandma Kadrichka. This patatnik that I present to you now I know from her.
Ingredients
| — | Картофи – 4-5 според големината |
| — | Лук – средна глава |
| — | Яйца – броя |
| — | Джоджън – с.л. сух |
| — | Сол |
| — | Олио |
| — | Масло |
Instructions
- Grate the potatoes on the coarse grater, salt them and mix well. Then leave them to stand a while so they release their water.
- Squeeze the potatoes by hand to remove the excess water.
- Add the eggs, very finely chopped onion and the dried spearmint to the potatoes. Mix well.
- Pour a little oil into the bottom of the pan, but NOT butter, because it burns quickly and will make the patatnik bitter.
- Place the potato mixture in, pressing it with a spoon and spreading it evenly in the pan; it should be NO thicker than 2 cm.
- On top of the potatoes, in a few places, put a little butter and cover with a lid, so the potatoes can fry and steam at the same time.
- Set the burner to medium, even a touch below medium, so the patatnik cooks slowly and does not burn on the outside while staying raw inside.
- After about 10 minutes turn the patatnik over with the help of a plate or board.
- Oil the pan again with oil and slide the patatnik back into it. Now the baked surface is on top and it is spread with butter. Do NOT put a lid on now, because the patatnik will steam and lose its crispy crust.
- After another 10 minutes or so the patatnik is ready and is served. Again it is spread with butter, and Grandma Kadrichka sprinkled it with good homemade Rhodope kashkaval and fresh spearmint. From her I know that in the 'bare' patatnik (the one without crusts) you do not put cheese or kashkaval inside, but sprinkle it on top; and when it has crusts the cheese goes inside the filling and only butter is spread on top. This was her method for the recipe. Homemade potatoes, homemade butter, homemade cheese... There is no such taste! Simplicity that raises you to Perfection...
EXTRA NOTES Instead of onion you can use leek (if in season) and this adds a special sweetness to the patatnik. Of course you can replace the spearmint with savory, thyme, black pepper; you can add a little ground dried porcini and it will also be very tasty, but it will already be your interpretation of patatnik and will not be like the one from Grandma Kadrichka from Trigrad. The Rhodopes are a great mountain, much wider in soul and energy than geography has determined, and in the different villages and towns in the mountain patatnik is prepared in different ways. There is no single recipe for patatnik, just as there is no single recipe for lyutenitsa or banitsa... Many thanks to you! Dr. Katsarov (psychiatrist and psychotherapist)