11 Jun Pre and probiotic Polish placki

Traditional Polish dinner, but more gutsy

I grew up on “placki” (or “latke” as they are otherwise known here). My mama often made savoury ones for dinner, which these are based on. I must admit those were my favourite dinners. You would start off eating them savoury and when you were satiated, you would inevitably crack open the double cream and sugar to finish them off (we have a separate stomach for sweet stuff, of course). These pre and probiotic ones that I made today are more filling and substantial, more “gutsy”, as they contain turnip and chickpeas, as well as the obligatory potato and onion.

What are placki

In Polish, a “placek” implies something flat. Traditional Polish placki are made from potato and onion, and eaten with salt and a soured cream or yoghurt. For a more substantial meal in a Polish karczma (Traveller’s Inn), you might be served an Outlaw’s placek. That would be a large one of these with a goulash-style sauce. This is the one you will find in my first cookbook, Polska. The typical sweet placki are more of a pancake batter with fruit in and served as a snack or for supper. Meals are seen a bit differently in Poland. These pre and probiotic ones can be eaten for lunch or dinner, they could even make a lovely brunch.

Recipe for pre and probiotic Polish placki

We have been receiving huge amounts of summer turnip in our fruit and veg boxes lately, so I decided to incorporate them into Polish placki. I also added chickpeas for the texture, stickiness and gutsy nutrition. The flavours worked together really well.