Campfire Skillet Slovak Potato Pancakes with Sweet Corn and Farm Eggs

Build a campfire and let it burn down to an even bed of coals, then set a grate about six inches above them. A gas camp stove on medium-high works equally well.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 lb (900 g) starchy potatoes, peeled
• 1 small yellow onion, peeled
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup (45 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 cloves garlic, finely grated
• 1 tsp dried marjoram
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup (150 g) fresh sweet corn kernels, cut from 2 ears
• 4 tbsp bacon fat or sunflower oil, for frying
• 4 farm eggs, for topping
• 1/2 cup (120 g) full-fat sour cream, to serve
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh chives

Instructions

1. Build a campfire and let it burn down to an even bed of coals, then set a grate about six inches above them. A gas camp stove on medium-high works equally well.
2. Grate the potatoes and onion on the coarse side of a box grater into a clean kitchen towel. Gather the towel and wring hard over a bowl to remove as much liquid as possible, then discard the liquid but keep the pale starch that settles at the bottom.
3. Tip the squeezed potato and onion into a large bowl with the reserved starch. Add the beaten eggs, flour, garlic, marjoram, salt and pepper, then fold in the sweet corn kernels. The batter should hold its shape on a spoon.
4. Set a large cast-iron skillet on the grate and add two tablespoons of the bacon fat. When it shimmers, drop in scant half-cup mounds of batter and press each flat to about a half-inch thick, leaving space between them.
5. Fry for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until the edges are lacy and deep golden and the centers feel firm. Move the skillet toward the cooler edge of the coals if they are browning too fast. Transfer to a plate and keep warm while you fry the rest, adding fat as needed.
6. Wipe the skillet, add the last of the fat, and crack in the farm eggs. Cook for 3 minutes until the whites set and the yolks are still glossy, spooning a little hot fat over the tops.
7. Stack the pancakes on plates, slide an egg onto each, and finish with a generous spoonful of sour cream and a shower of chives. Serve straight away while the edges are still crisp.
8. These pancakes are a campfire take on Slovakia's beloved zemiakove placky, a dish born in potato-growing highland villages where marjoram and garlic were the everyday seasonings of a hardworking kitchen. Late summer is when the sweet corn and new potatoes hit the market at the same moment, and folding one into the other makes the pancake sweeter and lighter than the traditional version. Cooked over wood coals on a camping morning, the smoke does something a home burner never will.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 520 kcal
• Protein: 17g
• Fat: 27g
• Carbohydrates: 54g
• Fiber: 6g
• Sugar: 6g
• Sodium: 760mg