Some Czech (or Slovak or generally East-European or whatever) recipes (please note that I am not a “follow the recipe” type of cook but don’t worry it will be fine).
Potato pancakes (as made by our family)
- grated potatoes (400-500g for two people or 800-1000g for 4 people) - approx. half roughly grated and half finely grated
- eggs (1 egg for two or 2 eggs for 4)
- a little bit of flour, just to hold it together slightly better
- a lot of garlic
- marjoram (or oregano if you don’t have marjoram)
- salt and pepper, oil for frying
Grate the potatoes, get rid of the excess water, mix in other ingredients. Heat a pan with small amount of oil, add a large spoonful of the mixture, use a spoon or fork to flatten the pancake as much as you can. Fry from both sides. After frying, use paper towels (the ones you bought when there was no toilet paper in shops 
) to dry excess oil.
Potato pancakes in this style are thin and crispy, not like potato cakes.
Potato dough (often used for dumplings but can be used for many things)
This is similar to Gnocchi and other similar recipes.
- boiled potatoes (floury type, baking potatoes are fine), approx. 700-750g for 4
- 2 eggs
- flour - Czech recipes often mix different types of flour (depending on the grinding), to keep this simple, use whatever you have but it is better if you can use two parts flour and one part semolina
- salt
Mash the potatoes (cold), add the eggs and as much flour as needed. This depends on the type of flour and the type of potatoes, just add more and keep working the dough until it isn’t too sticky. Expect to use 250-300g of flour. Add salt, let sit for ten minutes, shape to whatever you want.
Uses:
Potato flatbreads - roll it into thin flatbreads and fry it (and you have Lokše, a popular Slovakian side dish)
Filled pouches or filled dumplings, minced meat filling is common but sweet filling are also possible (fruit like plums etc.) - boil after filling
Gnocchi - yes, we do these, as small “noky” in soups or larger “šišky”. “Šišky” are often eaten as a sweet dish, with butter, sugar and poppy seeds. Slovakian national dish “Halušky” is very similar, eaten with creamy sheep milk cheese and smoked meat.
Dumplings - typical potato dumplings used in many Czech dishes
To make dumpligs:
Split the dough into two or three parts. Shape a thick roll (5-6cm thick). Boil for 15-20 minutes. Remove from boiling water, let cool slightly for 5 minutes. Cut into slices.
Normally, this would be a side dish, eaten with roasted meat and cabbage but when times are tough, they can be used for quicker in cheaper meals. My favourite is to have them with crispy fried bacon and caramelised onion.
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