Sunny brunch: Bill Granger's potato & feta pancakes

After couple of bright and sunny mornings in Edinburgh, today was positively miserable. The sky was overcast - a starck contrast to the blue morning skies earlier this week. It was drizzling with very wet rain. It was cooooooold. Dreich, as the Scots would say. The only way I could get myself to wake up on a morning like this was to drag myself out of my bed, and head for a caffeine kick at a nearby cafe. It helped - a lot actually. Before I headed out though, I leafed through bills Sydney food, just to remind myself that there are places in the world that are always sunny, whatever the season.. Oh, and pick a recipe idea for brunch.

One latte, almond croissant and morning papers later, I was back in my kitchen. It was still drizzling outside, the rain ferociously beating at my window. But it didn't matter as much anymore. I was grating potatoes, mincing spring onions and crumbling feta cheese, trying out an Australian (= sunny) recipe for a Greek (= sunny) dish. On the menu:

Potato and feta pancakes
(Kartuli-fetapannkoogid)
Adapted from Bills Sydney Food by Bill Granger*



500 grams potatoes, peeled and grated
5 spring onions, white parts only, chopped
2 eggs
2 tsp dried mint
2 Tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley
100 grams feta cheese, crumbled
4 Tbsp plain flour
salt and black pepper

Vegetable oil for frying.

Mix the grated potatoes and chopped onions with a pinch of salt, put into a colander to drain for 15 minutes.
Beat the eggs lightly in a bowl, add the herbs, feta cheese and flour. Squeeze the excess moisture from the potatoes and add to the egg mixture. Season and mix to combine.
Heat a little oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Take 1 Tbsp of mixture and dip into the hot oil, press to flatten. Fry on both sided on a medium-low heat until golden brown (if the heat is too high, your pancakes will brown before the potato is cooked).

Think of this as a Greek version of the British brunch staple hash brown, with herbs and salty speckles of feta cheese. Just a bit brighter and warmer and sunnier..

* Bill's recipe included 1 small onion, 2 Tbsp of mint, and parsley to serve.