Raggmunk — Swedish Potato Pancakes

About This Recipe

Raggmunk are Sweden's beloved potato pancakes: thick, shaggy rounds of grated raw potato bound in a thin batter, fried in generous amounts of butter until the exterior is deeply golden and crispy while the interior remains soft and yielding. The name comes from 'raggig' (shaggy or rough) and 'munk' (monk or friar), referring to their irregular, rustic appearance. They are traditionally served with crispy fried bacon and a spoonful of lingonberry jam — the sweet-tart berry cutting through the richness of the potato and bacon. This is Swedish home cooking at its most satisfying: humble ingredients transformed into something completely delicious.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 800 gfloury potatoes(peeled and coarsely grated)
• 2eggs
• 100 mlwhole milk
• 3 tablespoonsplain flour
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 0.5 teaspoonwhite pepper
• 60 gbutter(for frying)
• 200 gstreaky bacon(to serve)
• 4 tablespoonslingonberry jam(to serve)

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare potatoes

   Grate potatoes coarsely. Place in a clean cloth and squeeze out as much liquid as possible — this is the key step for crispiness.

   Really squeeze hard — excess moisture is the enemy of crispy raggmunk.

2. 2

   Make batter

   Beat eggs with milk, flour, salt and pepper. Stir in the squeezed potato. The mixture should be thick and shaggy.

3. 3

   Fry

   Melt a knob of butter in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat until foaming. Add a large spoonful of batter per pancake and flatten slightly to about 1cm thick. Fry for 4–5 minutes per side until deeply golden and crispy. Work in batches, adding more butter for each batch.

4. 4

   Fry bacon and serve

   In a separate pan, fry streaky bacon until crispy. Serve raggmunk stacked, topped with crispy bacon and a generous spoonful of lingonberry jam.

Variations

• •

  Some recipes add a grated onion to the batter.

• •

  Serve with sour cream instead of lingonberry for a savoury version.

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

• •

  Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

Best eaten immediately. Leftover raggmunk can be reheated in a hot pan with butter, but they lose some crispiness.

Frequently Asked Questions