Reibekuchen, grated cakes, are the Rhineland name for German potato pancakes, and in Cologne and the surrounding country they are a fixture of markets, fairs and the stand outside the main railway station. The Eifel hills, home of the Nürburgring, lie just to the south, and anyone who has queued for food at the Ring on a damp afternoon will know the smell of potatoes frying in hot oil drifting across the paddock.

They are made from little more than potatoes, onion, egg and a spoonful of flour, and the only real secret is squeezing the water out of the grated potatoes. Rhinelanders eat them with apple sauce, on dark rye bread with sugar beet syrup, or, on more indulgent days, with smoked salmon and sour cream. All three are correct.

The apple sauce

Ingredients

• 4 medium tart apples
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) water
• 2 tablespoons (25 g) sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon juice
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon

The pancakes

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 lb (1 kg) floury potatoes
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons fine salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• about 1 cup (240 ml) vegetable oil

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