Swedish Raggmunk-Style Potato Pancakes with Shrimp and Dill

About This Recipe

Raggmunk, coarse grated-potato pancakes fried until crisp at the edges, is one of Sweden's most enduring home dishes, traditionally served with fried pork and lingonberries. This version takes the same crisp potato base but tops it the way a Swedish coastal cook might dress a smörgås — with cold-water shrimp, a dollop of sour cream and a generous handful of fresh dill, echoing the shrimp sandwiches (räksmörgås) found in cafés across the country. The technique that makes raggmunk work is removing as much liquid from the grated potato as possible before it hits the batter, usually by wringing it out in a clean towel. A dry mixture fries up crisp instead of soggy, and adding a spoonful of the potato starch that settles at the bottom of the squeezed-out liquid back into the batter actually helps the pancakes bind and crisp further, a trick many Swedish home cooks swear by. While raggmunk itself is usually a savory dinner dish paired with meat, dressing it with cold shrimp and dill turns it into a lighter plate that works equally well for a weekend brunch. The pairing of potato, dill and shrimp is deeply rooted in Swedish coastal eating, even if this particular combination is a home-kitchen improvisation rather than a single named classic.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 900 gstarchy potatoes(peeled)
• 1small onion(grated)
• 2 largeeggs
• 3 tbspall-purpose flour
• 1 tspfine sea salt
• 0.25 tspwhite pepper
• 4 tbspbutter(for frying)
• 300 gcooked cold-water shrimp(peeled)
• 0.5 cupsour cream
• 0.5 cupfresh dill(chopped, plus extra to garnish)
• 1lemon(cut into wedges)

Instructions

1. 1

   Grate and drain the potatoes

   Grate potatoes on the coarse side of a box grater. Wring them out firmly in a clean kitchen towel over a bowl, reserving the liquid.

   Let the reserved liquid sit for a minute, then pour it off — the white starch left at the bottom can go back into the batter to help it crisp.

2. 2

   Mix the batter

   In a large bowl, combine the drained potato, reserved starch, grated onion, eggs, flour, salt and white pepper until evenly mixed.

3. 3

   Fry the pancakes

   Melt a tablespoon of butter in a wide skillet over medium heat. Spoon in portions of batter, flattening to about 1cm thick, and fry 4 to 5 minutes per side until deep golden and crisp at the edges.

4. 4

   Keep warm

   Transfer finished pancakes to a wire rack in a low oven while you fry the rest in batches, adding more butter to the pan as needed.

5. 5

   Top and serve

   Plate the warm pancakes and top each with a spoonful of sour cream, a generous pile of shrimp, chopped dill and a lemon wedge on the side.

Variations

• •

  Classic version: skip the shrimp topping and serve the pancakes with fried pork belly and lingonberry jam instead.

• •

  Smoked salmon: swap the shrimp for cold-smoked salmon and add a squeeze of lemon over the top.

• •

  Vegetarian: top with sautéed mushrooms and crème fraîche instead of shrimp.

Storage

Store cooked pancakes in the fridge for up to 2 days and reheat in a dry skillet to re-crisp; keep the shrimp topping separate and add it only after reheating.

Frequently Asked Questions