A rustic, dense potato cake from the Rhodope Mountains, made with grated potatoes, onions, spearmint, and butter, slowly baked until golden and crispy. Mountain comfort food at its finest.
Ingredients
1kg potatoes, peeled
2 large onions, grated
100g butter
2 tsp dried spearmint
200g sirene cheese, crumbled (optional)
Salt and black pepper
Instructions
1Grate potatoes on the coarse side of a box grater. Squeeze out excess moisture with a clean towel.
2Grate onions and mix with the potatoes. Season with salt, pepper, and dried spearmint.
3Melt half the butter and mix into the potato-onion mixture. If using cheese, fold it in now.
4Grease a cast iron skillet or baking pan with remaining butter. Press the potato mixture firmly into the pan in an even layer.
5Bake at 200C for 45-50 minutes until the top is deeply golden and crispy, while the inside remains dense and moist.
6Let cool for 10 minutes, then flip onto a plate or cut into wedges directly from the pan. Serve with yogurt.
Did You Know?
In the Rhodope Mountains, patatnik was traditionally cooked over an open fire in a copper pan called a sach, which gave it an unmatchable smoky flavor.