Bratkartoffeln. Soft and crispy potatoes fried with smoked, salty pancetta and sweet white onions dressed with an utterly delicious garlic and herb sour cream sauce.
Bratkartoffeln or German Fries are roughly sliced parboiled potatoes that are fried until nice and crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside with smoked pancetta or bacon and white onion. These are absolutely delicious and one of my favourite things to eat at this time of year.
Every winter Edinburgh has a huge Christmas market filled with all sorts of delicious and wonderful things. Little wooden huts are adorned in twinkling fairy lights and filled with mouth watering delights from hog roasts, German sausages, melting cheese that's scraped onto chunks of fresh bread, all sorts of mulled wine and hot cider and of course Bratkartoffeln. They serve the Bratkartoffeln with a garlic and herb sauce that tastes so incredible I can't wait for it every year!
Unfortunately since moving to Italy it's not so easy for me to pop over to Edinburgh's Christmas market to get my Bratkartoffeln fix so I've been making my own for the last few years and OH MY GOD they are amazing. This is such an incredibly easy recipe to make including the delicious garlic and herb sauce that it would be silly not to.
I start by parboiling the potatoes in chicken stock (this gives the potatoes an extra flavour boost) whilst frying the smoked pancetta and white onion until they are soft and crispy and packed full of flavour. The potatoes are then sliced and added to the pan until they are beautifully crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
To make the garlic and herb sauce I simply mix sour cream with mayonnaise, capers, gherkins, garlic and oregano and that's it! Yup this sauce takes no more than 2 minutes and tastes SO incredible it's hard not to eat it by the spoon.
WHY NOT TRY MY GRILLED ROMAINE SALAD WITH CREAMY CAPER DRESSING
I love to serve these with mustard pork steaks or juicy sausages as a main course or enjoy them on their own with a hot mug of mulled wine as a yummy, comforting snack. Be sure to let me know what you thought of the recipe in the comments below, I love hearing from ya!
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📖 Full Recipe
Brattkartofeln - German potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 large potatoes around 1.5kg
- 2 litres chicken stock good quality
- 160 g sour cream
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 baby gherkins
- 1 teaspoon capers
- ½ tablespoon oregano
- 1 white onion
- 1 77 g packet of smoked pancetta
- sunflower oil for frying
- salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- Bring 2 litres of chicken stock to the boil in a large pot. Peel the potatoes them place them whole in the chicken stock and boil for 25 minutes until a knife can be inserted with ease but they are not fully cooked through.
- Meanwhile fry the pancetta for 1-2 minutes on a medium/low heat in a large frying pan. Finely chop the white onion and add to the pan, add a little oil if needed. Fry until soft then transfer the pancetta and onion to a plate.
- Add 3-4 tablespoons of sunflower oil to the pan. Slice the parboiled potatoes and cut the bigger slices in half. Fry until crispy on the outside and cooked through, sprinkle with salt then add the pancetta and onions back to the pan and turn of the heat.
- To make the sauce mix together the sour cream and mayonnaise, Finely chop the capers and gherkins and add to the bowl. Crush the garlic and add that along with the oregano, salt and pepper.
- Serve the potatoes on plates with dollops of garlic and herb sauce.
Nutrition
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
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TOMMY
Just like the Edinburgh Market Potatoes!! I too am a big fan! I found boiling the potatoes for 25 mins was too long because they crumbled when sliced but still tasted delicious and just like the German Stall! Brought back many happy memories 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
Inside the rustic kitchen
Hi Tommy, so happy to hear it brought back happy memories for you it's one of my favourites at Christmas time! Thanks for adding a note about the cooking time the size of potatoes will really make a difference there!
Laura
This is absolutely delicious, loved it!
Inside the rustic kitchen
Thanks so much!
Nathan
Comfort food at it's best, loved this!!
Megan
I did a study abroad program back in 07 in Scotland and loved the Edinburgh Christmas market so much! I have been craving these potatoes (and that sauce) ever since I left. Thank you for sharing your recipe, can't wait to make it!
Inside the rustic kitchen
Hey Megan, I'm so glad you got to experience Edinburgh at Christmas time it's the best! Those potatoes are just too good, I hope you enjoy!!☺️
Geoffrey
That looks mouthwatering. I bet the pancetta makes all the difference. yum!
Inside the rustic kitchen
Thank you Geoffrey, the pancetta definitely gives it great flavour!
Julie | Bunsen Burner Bakery
Ooooh... I'm not a big potato fan because I usually find them to be bland, but I bet this is super flavorful and crispy!
Inside the rustic kitchen
You'll definitely need to try this then...thanks Julie 🙂
Melissa @ My Wife Can Cook
Wow. This sounds amazing. I love potatoes, but these clearly are a step above the regular potato dish. The garlic and herb sauce sounds so good!
Inside the rustic kitchen
The sauce is honestly is one of my favourite things...thanks Melissa 🙂
Bintu - Recipes From A Pantry
Oh My Gosh these look amazing. Love that you have combined this with bacon. MMM
Inside the rustic kitchen
Haha yes anything with bacon is delicious 🙂
Platter Talk
Wow, do those spuds look good! Nice and brown, with the pancetta.... right up our ally!!!
Inside the rustic kitchen
Thank you!