Russian Style Home Fries with Creamy Garlic Sauce…ЖАРЕНАЯ КАРТОШКА
This is the Russian Holy Grail of comfort food. Tender and crispy home fries that are sauteed with garlic and onions to achieve savory perfection. And with 5 ingredients it really does not get much simpler.
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What I am introducing to you today ladies and gentlemen is zharenya kartoshka, literal translation, fried potatoes, or home fries. Ask any Russian, Ukranian, Belarussian, Moldovian (me) or most other Slavic countryman what their ultimate comfort food is and chances are this will be the answer.
Why? Because most of our childhoods were full of dinners, breakfasts and lunches that featured this very magical dish. It is a humble dish that acted as a rustic side dish to many Russian favorites and sometimes in the hardest of economic times it was the main dish, side dish and appetizer…all in one.
Potatoes were typically easy to come by, or at least easier than meat or poultry, and they were relatively inexpensive. Hence why most of the Slavic foods feature potatoes in so many of their recipes. It is a great filler for growling tummies in the coldest of Russian winters.
It’s also a great side dish to go along with cold vodka shots, chunks of grilled meat on an open fire and along side a Russian style sasiska aka hot dogs. In fact, the classic zharenaya kartoshka and sasiska breakfast has helped my husband and I get over many hangovers and fulfill our nostalgic thoughts at dinner times.
Munchkin is quite the fan as well…and her breakfast of zharenaya kartoshka, sasiska and small pieces of tomato have served as her breakfast many a times…and she gobbles it up just as we do.
I remember many a cold evenings when my mom or babushka would fry up these glorious spuds. Babushka would typically make the potatoes and mama would make the kotletki (little ground fried meat patties) along with her signature salad of aromatic tomatoes, crisp cucumbers and bright green scallions and simply dressed in sunflower oil and salt and pepper. The best part was the juice that remained once the salad was gone. We would all use chunks of bread or our potato pieces to dip into the simple tomato juices left behind.
This was dad’s favorite part. To mop up all the juices with a huge chunk of grey rye bread.
And everyone was happy.
It was simple dinners like this that have left a footprint on my culinary mind…and my heart. Those warm evenings of family and so much love were only complimented by the simple flavors on the table. My mom was a magician of simple flavors and we all felt the love that she put into her food. And we all miss that to this day.
Today, whenever I make this dish for my family or friends, we all chow down on it whole heartedly, and we all bond over our own individual tales of nostalgia that this dish held for us. It’s a dish we all share our love for. It’s a dish that binds us together as people who love family, friends, loud social gatherings, comfort food and most importantly our memories from our own childhoods. It’s our tales of our lives in the old country before they became over complicated.
Nostalgia. It’s a beautiful thing.
What else is a beautiful thing? This glorious sauce I serve with my potatoes. A simple combination of sour cream, a touch of mayo, chopped dill and fresh garlic. And it is almost always served along side my potatoes.
We start this dish by peeling our potatoes. For this dish I prefer to use Yukon golds. They remind me of the potatoes we had in Russian and makes me feel authentic.
Next we slice them up into fry like shapes. First by cutting it into thirds lengthwise.
and then by slicing it across.
Then we pour some oil into a large NON STICK pan. Any oil will do. We used to use a combination of butter and vegetable oil. But honestly any oil will do.
Add in all your potatoes, carefully. Some of the moisture on the potatoes may cause the oil to splatter on you.
Leave it alone for 5 minutes cooking over medium high heat UNCOVERED. And you will get these beautiful colors.
Flip them over to the other side and let them go for another 5 minutes. In the meantime grab a whole onion, peel it and slice it into slices…in fact here’s a tutorial for ya’!
And look at these beauties.
Now add in your onions and if necessary a bit more oil. You see those potatoes suck up the oil, so you need to add just a tad more to keep them cooking rather than burning.
Now place the lid on top. For me this is crucial. WHY? Because I like my taters nicely browned on the outside and buttery soft and sweet on the inside. And since we have already fried them up nicely, the insides will now get the opportunity to get soft. HOWEVER if you like them nice and crispy…right now is a great time to stick them in a 450-degree oven until they are done. Just remember to flip them now and then.
Grab your handy dandy microplaner or micro grater and grate up 3 cloves of garlic. Set aside 2 of them to be used in the sauce later on. For now, we need just one for the potatoes…remember the potatoes are the star here not the garlic.
Once your taters are soft, taste for seasoning, turn of the heat and add the garlic. Toss everything together and close the lid for another 2-5 minutes so the garlic flavor seeps in everywhere.
Oh yes…yes this is the best stuff…ever!
Now lets whip up the sauce…take some mayo, some sour cream, salt, pepper and that grated garlic… oh and a few sprigs of chopped dill. Mix it all up and that’s the magical sauce. It’s a Russian aioli if you will.
Serve it alongside your potatoes…dip..enjoy…and share in our nostalgia.
Russian Style Home Fries with Creamy Garlic Sauce…ЖАРЕНАЯ КАРТОШКА…25 Days of Holiday Treats
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 2 people 1x
Description
This is the Russian Holy Grail of comfort food. Tender and crispy home fries that are sauteed with garlic and onions to achieve savory perfection. And with 5 ingredients it really does not get much simpler.
Ingredients
For the potatoes:
- 2.5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 medium onion
- 1 minced garlic clove
- salt and pepper to season
- desired oil
- chopped dill for garnish or if desired to add to the potatoes at the very end
For the sauce
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- finely chopped dill
- salt and pepper for seasoning
Instructions
- We start this dish by peeling our potatoes. For this dish I prefer to use Yukon golds. They remind me of the potatoes we had in Russian and makes me feel authentic.
- Next we slice them up into fry like shapes.
- Then we pour some oil into a large NON STICK pan. Any oil will do. We used to use a combination of butter and vegetable oil. But honestly any oil will do.
- Add in all your potatoes, carefully. Some of the moisture on the potatoes may cause the oil to splatter on you.
- Leave it alone for 5 minutes cooking over medium high heat UNCOVERED.
- Flip them over to the other side and let them go for another 5 minutes. In the meantime grab a whole onion, peel it and slice it into slices…in fact here’s a tutorial for ya’!
- Now add in your onions and if necessary a bit more oil. You see those potatoes suck up the oil, so you need to add just a tad more to keep them cooking rather than burning.
- Now place the lid on top. For me this is crucial. WHY? Because I like my taters nicely browned on the outside and buttery soft and sweet on the inside. And since we have already fried them up nicely, the insides will now get the opportunity to get soft. HOWEVER if you like them nice and crispy…right now is a great time to stick them in a 450-degree oven until they are done. Just remember to flip them now and then.
- Grab your handy dandy microplaner or micro grater and grate up 3 cloves of garlic. Set aside 2 of them to be used in the sauce later on. For now, we need just one for the potatoes…remember the potatoes are the star here not the garlic.
- Once your taters are soft, taste for seasoning, turn of the heat and add the garlic. Toss everything together and close the lid for another 2-5 minutes so the garlic flavor seeps in everywhere.
- Now lets whip up the sauce…take some mayo, some sour cream, salt, pepper and that grated garlic… oh and a few sprigs of chopped dill. Mix it all up and that’s the magical sauce. It’s a Russian aioli if you will.
- Serve it alongside your potatoes…dip..enjoy…and share in our nostalgia.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Potatoes/Side Dish/ Breakfast
- Cuisine: Russian
In the mood for more Russian style comfort food?
Check out my Galuptsi:
Or how about one of my favorites…good ole plov.
This looks so yummy!!!!
Thanks Lizzy…we just had it for dinner last night…and even though a few got a tad burned…it still tastes so amazingly delicious!
These look delicious…definitely the sort of recipe my family likes! Can’t wait to try it! Pinned and yummed!
Thanks Michelle! Let me know how the kids like em!!!
Wow, I could eat and entire pan full myself. I need to make these.
Welcome to my world 🙂 we just had them last night!
I recently found your blog and love your recipes and step by step pictures. I make this dish all the times but never made the sauce with it! I will try it next time I make it. Thank you
So glad you found my blog as well! Happy to have you here!!!
This is comfort food at it’s best, delicious!
Thanks Amanda!!!! Hubs and I chowed down on it for two nights already… Never gets old. Ever.
Yummy…tnx for the recipe
Thanks for stopping by Rachel!
Mila, these home fries look so tasty! The perfect comfort food! And it works as the perfect side dish to anything!!!
They are…I’m craving some as we speak!!!
Absolutely love the sound of these simple but delicious potatoes, Mila, but what you completely sold me on was your mama’s salad! It really reminds me of the hundreds (thousands?) of Greek salads I ate when I was living there. The best part was always dipping the bread in the juices at the end! 😉
Good!!!! That salad DESERVES to be sold!!!!! I will blog it but it’s just soooooo easy!
I definitely prefer this kind of fries, to the oily “American” style! These look so tasty! And the sauce is perfect! Pinning!
Thanks Mira… That’s our Slavic roots talking 🙂
I basically lived on something similar to this that I made when I lived on my own at 17. Who knew I was Moldovian, too! Who could resist? Love the Munchkin’s plate, too BTW. 🙂
Kevin..when I stopped eating meat and realized I could eat THIS EVERYDAY I knew I would be juuuuust fine. Totally salivating as we speak! Munchkin asks for this almost every weekend so I am forced to oblige under the tyrants rule 🙂
You crack me up – “good with shots of cold vodka.” – what isn’t? 😉 I’m all about this kind of tasty, soul satisfying dish and that sauce you whipped up looks so darn good!
Marissa…duh right! We have this Russian restaurant by my office…my hubs went there last week to bring us lunch and he brought me a nice pan seared piece of fish with tons of veggies…and these. We completely devoured them and it was enough for 6 people. Us Ruski’s love our fried potatoes 🙂
Love zharenaya kartoshka. Reminds me of my childhood very much.
OMG is it NOT THE BEST!!!! I Love! Thank yo so much for stopping by!!! I am on my way to your site! I love making new blogging friends! XOXO
Love the recipe and especially the sauce which compliments the potatoes.. I’ve always just plopped a dab of sour cream on them… No more… I’m thinking of a few more dishes which get plain sour cream…
Well in our culture …EVERYTHING gets sour cream 🙂 thanks for the warm compliments Ross 🙂
Thanks for bringing back alot of memories growing up. I’m was born into a family from Kishinev, and all four grandparents were born in Romania. These dishes and your memories of family meals are just like the ones I experienced growing up.
Sorry for the delay this went to junk! I am go glad you guys enjoyed! And these comments are exactly why I tell my stories 🙂