History

Placki ziemniaczane (grated-potato pancakes) are eaten across all of Poland, but the Lower Silesian variation served po zbóju (literally bandit-style, meaning loaded up with stew) is the regional Wroclaw signature. The dish emerged in late 19th-century Silesian inns as a way to combine the cheap potato pancake with a small portion of leftover goulash, stretching expensive meat across a peasant plate. The Lower Silesian variation usually uses Hungarian-influenced paprika-heavy beef gulasz rather than the wetter Polish bigos. The dish is a Karczma standard across Wroclaw, served at Karczma Lwowska and Dwór Polski; locals order it with a pint of dark Tyskie at midday.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 1 hrTotal 2 hr 30 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • For the beef gulasz topping: 600g beef chuck (cut into 3cm cubes), 2 tbsp sunflower oil, 2 large onions (finely chopped), 3 garlic cloves (crushed), 3 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika, 1 tsp hot paprika or cayenne, 1 tsp caraway seeds (crushed), 1 tsp dried marjoram, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 500ml beef stock, 200ml red wine, 1 large red bell pepper (diced), 1 large carrot (diced), 1 bay leaf, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, 1 tbsp plain flour mixed with 2 tbsp cold water (slurry, for finishing)
  • For the placki potato pancakes: 1.2kg floury potatoes (Bintje, King Edward), 1 medium onion (grated), 2 large eggs, 60g plain flour, 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
  • For frying: 200ml sunflower oil or pork lard
  • To serve: 200ml thick soured cream, 1 tbsp sweet paprika to dust, 2 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, snipped chives

Method

  1. Make the gulasz first: heat the oil in a heavy pot over high heat, brown the beef cubes in two batches (4 minutes per batch); lift out.
  2. Reduce heat to medium, add the chopped onions to the same pot, cook for 12 to 15 minutes until deeply caramelised.
  3. Stir in garlic, caraway, marjoram. Pull the pot off the heat and stir in the paprika (paprika burns at high temperature) immediately followed by the tomato paste.
  4. Return to medium heat, pour in the red wine and beef stock, scrape the pan, return the beef and add the bay leaf. Bring to a low simmer, cover, cook 90 minutes.
  5. Add the diced red pepper and carrot in the last 25 minutes of cooking. The beef should be fork-tender and the sauce thick. Whisk in the flour slurry to thicken if needed. Season with salt and pepper.
  6. While the gulasz finishes, peel the potatoes and grate them on the coarse side of a box grater into a clean tea towel held over the sink. Squeeze the towel hard to remove as much liquid as possible.
  7. Tip the squeezed potato into a large bowl. Add the grated onion, eggs, flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix to a thick batter that holds its shape on a spoon.
  8. Heat 3mm of oil in a wide heavy frying pan over medium-high heat until shimmering.
  9. Spoon 2 heaped tablespoons of batter into the pan and flatten with the back of the spoon to 12cm wide and 5mm thick. Cook two or three at a time.
  10. Fry 3 to 4 minutes per side until deep gold and crisp at the edges. Drain on paper.
  11. Plate the placki po zbóju: stack 3 hot pancakes per portion on each plate. Spoon a generous ladle of the beef gulasz across the top and around the side. Crown with a heaped tablespoon of soured cream.
  12. Dust the cream with sweet paprika, scatter parsley and chives. Serve with a cold Tyskie.

Tip from the editors. The potato must be squeezed ruthlessly dry; wet batter gives soggy pancakes that never crisp. The gulasz is better made a day ahead; the flavour deepens overnight in the fridge.

Where to eat placki ziemniaczane po zbóju

Placki Ziemniaczane po Zbóju in Wrocław

Karczma Lwowska ★ 4.0

Modern Polish$$stare-miasto

Karczma Lwowska on Wrocław's Rynek cooks Eastern Borderlands food, the family roots a lot of post-1945 Wrocław inherited. Located in Stare Miasto.

Signature: Flaming meat platters, Pierogi, Bigos

Order: The flaming meat platter for two with grilled vegetables and three sauces.

Tip: Ask for the szaszłyk skewers; they're cheaper than the platter and the kitchen treats them with the same care.

Rynek 4, 50-106 Wrocław Book →

Dwór Polski ★ 3.9

Traditional Polish$$stare-miasto

Dwór Polski on Wrocław's Rynek serves classic Polish food in a building that's a working monument: King Wladislaw IV met with Marie Louise Gonzaga here.

Signature: Duck with apples, Pierogi, Żurek

Order: Duck breast with baked apples and red cabbage, the classic Polish Sunday plate.

Tip: The medieval-cellar dining room is quieter than the upstairs square-facing rooms on busy weekends.

Rynek 5, 50-106 Wrocław Book →

Restauracja Wrocławska ★ 4.2

Silesian$$stare-miasto

Restauracja Wrocławska's casual side: Silesian classics, pre-war Breslau menu drawn from Marek Krajewski novels, and the city's most reliable plate of rolada.

Signature: Rolada śląska, Śląskie niebo, Kluski wrocławskie

Order: Rolada śląska with potato dumplings (kluski śląskie) and red cabbage, the canonical Silesian plate.

Tip: The hekele (smoked-herring spread) starter is the deep-Silesian move many visitors miss.

ul. Szewska 59, 50-139 Wrocław Book →

Restauracja Konspira ★ 4.1

Traditional Polish$$stare-miasto

Konspira on Wrocław's Plac Solny dresses a solid Polish bistro in 1980s Solidarity-era staging. Pierogi, żurek, schabowy and big plates priced for locals.

Signature: Pierogi, Żurek, Schabowy

Order: The schabowy (breaded pork chop) with potatoes and cucumber salad.

Tip: Sit upstairs in the recreated 80s apartment for the cinematic effect; the food's the same as the ground floor.

Plac Solny 11, 50-061 Wrocław Book →

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