Bf's Potato Pancakes & Pear Cranberry Chutney

Total Time: 59 mins Preparation Time: 24 mins Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (will use the seeds)
• 4 ripe bosc pears, peeled and cored and cut into small dice
• 1 cup fresh cranberries, picked over and rinsed
• 2 -3 tablespoons granulated sugar (prefer it slightly tart or sweeter?)
• salt, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup creme fraiche
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• salt, to taste
• 1 large baking potato, peeled and coarsely shredded (1 pound)
• 1 small onion, peeled and coarsely shredded
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 pinch baking powder
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 -5 tablespoons canola oil or 2 -5 tablespoons grapeseed oil, for frying

Recipe

• 1 pear chutney:.
• 2 over medium heat, bring water to a boil.
• 3 add the ginger, allspice, and scraped vanilla bean seeds; stir.
• 4 add the pears and cranberries, and cook until pears cook down and become soft and cranberries pop completely, about 15-20 minutes. stir occasionally.
• 5 coarsely mash to a chunky consistency. season with salt and pepper to taste, check for desired sweetness, and add more sugar if needed.
• 6 let cool to room temperature.
• 7 peppered creme fraiche:.
• 8 whisk together crème fraiche and black pepper.
• 9 add salt to taste, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
• 10 potato pancakes:.
• 11 preheat oven to 400 degrees f.
• 12 use a box grater and coarsely shred the potato and the onion.
• 13 transfer potato/onion mixture to a colander or wrap in cheesecloth and squeeze dry as possible. let stand 2 minutes, then squeeze dry again.
• 14 put the potato/onion mixture in a large bowl. add flour, baking powder, egg, salt and pepper. gently fold to combine.
• 15 use a large cast-iron skillet. heat 2 tablespoons of oil until shimmering.
• 16 drop heaping tablespoons of the potato mixture into the skillet and flatten them with the back of a spoon.
• 17 cook the pancakes over moderately high heat until the edges are golden, about 1 1/2-2 minutes.
• 18 flip and cook until golden on the bottom, about 1 minute.
• 19 drain on paper towels.
• 20 repeat steps 16-19 with the remaining potato mixture, adding more oil to the skillet as needed, and waiting for oil to shimmer again before dropping potato mixture in again.
• 21 assemble:.
• 22 serve pancakes topped with chutney and a small dollop of peppered crème fraiche.
• 23 hot oven:
• 24 if the potato pancakes were undercooked or didn't get the desired browning, heat in the 400-degree oven.
• 25 if reheating potato pancakes, place in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees until they are crisp again.