A classic dish, ‘Racuchy’ (pronounced: rah-tsu-he, see – already plural!) are a type of small thick pancakes made with yeast. It is a no fuss, no fancy ingredient kind of recipe. Everything should be easy to pick up at the grocery store. As for the equipment, I trust you have a mixer, bowl and frying pan.
I probably won‘t lie if I say there isn‘t a Polish adult who did not have racuchy in their childhood. They always make me think of my grandma – grandmas are usually the best at making them, I guess it comes with years of experience. At a certain point you can hear if the oil temperature is hot enough or if the dough has the right consistency. Commence your practice today to make sure by the time you‘re a grandma (or grandpa!), you are the person the little one always asks to make racuchy.
Racuchy also makes me think of my pregnancy. As probably the majority of pregnant people, the first trimester passed filled with exhaustion, lack of appetite and nausea. The moment it all subsided, I jumped on a train (fun times, travelling used to be so easy!) and went to my mom to be fed all my childhood food by her, racuchy included. She was happy to take care of me and nourish me with all the dumplings, racuchy and pancakes I could eat. A little over one year later, I was so excited to serve them for the first time to my daughter. There is something special about showing our little ones the whole array of foods they can try and build their own palette of favourites and ‘yucks.’ Who knows, maybe in 30 years my little one will call to tell me that I should get the yeast out of the fridge because she needs her fix of racuchy? I will be ready –we always have yeast in the fridge ;).
You will love them for the versatility – they know no limitations as to when they taste best. They make a very lush and festive breakfast or they can be a quick lunch if only you do a bit of pre-planning, as well as dinner. They are light, not overly sweet until you shower them with a lot of powdered sugar and easy to eat even with really small hands.
Pro tip: Control the temperature of the oil – too hot and they will be raw inside, too cold and they will just take in too much oil.
Polish Racuchy
Yield: enough for two hungry adults and one baby
260 g of milk
20 g fresh yeast
20 g sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
200 g flour
2 apples, peeled, cored and cut in slices
Combine lukewarm milk with yeast, set aside.
Mix egg and egg yolk with sugar until they are light and fluffy. Change setting to low and add milk and flour. Mix until all the ingredients are well-combined.
Set aside for 30-60 minutes. The dough should grow visibly.
Heat up oil in a frying pan on high. Lower the temperature to medium. Pour a spoonful of the dough, set a slice of apple, pour some more dough to cover the apple. Flip when the bottom is nice and golden. It should take approximately 1,5 to 2 minutes on each side.
Serve with powdered sugar. Alternatives: Yogurt mixed with peanut butter, apple mousse or strawberry jam.
If you are curious for more Polish and Austrian recipes to feed yourself and your family, visit my blog: wienweinwunderbar.com and/or follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wien_wein_wunderbar/
Joanna Erbslöh
came to Vienna for the weekend 5 years ago, fell in love and stayed. She loves to talk about food, write about food and feed people. Unapologetically refuses to be insulted by Viennese grumpy waiters. Tries to juggle her 10-month old and her blog: Wien Wein Wunderbar. In her free time (haha!) she loves to roam the vineyards and eat as much Erdäpfelsalat as she can pack in.