Russian Style Pan Fried Potatoes And Onions Recipe With Serving Ideas

2 pounds of potatoes

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 onion

Salt by taste

1. Cut potatoes in fries as on the photo.

 We can also slice potatoes in slices. The photo on the bottom of the page.

2. Cut onion into slices and separate into rings.

3. Rinse potatoes under cold water and drain water. In addition also dry potatoes with paper towels.

*It is important to dry potatoes well. Drops of water will be boiling on potatoes surface and we never can get a good crisp on our potatoes.

4. Heat the oil. Fry potatoes on medium hight temperature 5 minutes without turning them or when you see good crisp on the bottom.

 Potatoes should be layered on skillet not more than  2.5 ” hight. If you have more potatoes, fry 2 times.

5. Turn potatoes over and fry again for another 5 minutes without touching them. After all potatoes have crisp time to salt it. Continue frying until potatoes done. Don’t cover potatoes with a lead!

6. Remove potatoes and place on paper towel.

7. Caramelizing onion rings for toping in the same skillet. Add salt to onions at the end.

Some people suggest frying onions together with potatoes. Actually, my friend Ania likes this way because easy. However, I don’t like it for 2 reasons. The first when we put raw onions on potatoes it gives not pleasant raw onion flavor. The second reason is only experienced person can properly catch the right moment when to add onions. 

Traditionally at Russia fried potatoes serve  with homemade pickles, homemade pickled cabbage, pickled mushrooms or other vegetables. Easpecially at winter time. Very well to Sprinkle with parsley or dill or black pepper on the top.

        I worked at small restaurant at city Krasnoidar for one year before I came to the USA. Fried potatoes was in the menu. We served it with pork chops. Almost everything was cooked from scratch. I fried pork chops halfway at the pan and after in the same pan I fried potatoes. Melted fat from meat gives a pleasant flavor to potatoes. On the photo below you can see example how I served fried potatoes with pork chops.

Check the recipe → Russian Style Pork Medallions With Mushrooms

     One of my favorite way to eat fried potatoes with mushrooms and onions on the top. So yummy! So good with meat dishes or just itself with green salad. The best mushroom topping is from fried wild Russian mushrooms. It will be in my memory for the rest of my life. I remember mushroom hunting with my parents and my sister at beautiful Siberian forest around Novosibirsk. We had canned mushroom all winter long. Mom made marinaded it, canned fried in smalez and dry. In my opinion pairing pan fried potatoes with mushrooms is the best combination!

Read the recipe on the photo below → Russian Style Pork Chops Recipe

       Pan fried potatoes with eggs are great for breakfast! Potatoes should be complitely cooked before you add eggs to a skillet.

      I remember my first fried potatoes with eggs! It was very memorable life lesson. I was maybe around 11 years old. I thought it is so easy and offer for my little sister and father to make potatoes with eggs when my mom was at work. I prepare ingredients and place on the skillet potatoes and eggs in the same time! As the result, my eggs were burning and potatoes were not done at all. Our small kitchen was full of smoke! My father told me, that now he is sure I know how to fry potatoes with eggs.

           Another use of leftovers from fried potatoes is super easy and delicious. Add meat cut on the same shape as potatoes and sprinkle on top with cheese (mozzarella or other) and bake on medium heat so the cheese is going to melt and has nice light caramel color. Easy breakfast idea!

Cut the bottom of the potato before slicing it. This way potatoes don’t roll over on cutting board and safer to cut.

Start peel potatoes from the side and at the end peel the bottom and the top. Fingers will be stable on the skin of the potato more than if we hold potato without skin.

Don’t discard the tip of the onion. Just freeze it and use for the stock.

To prevent much crying over the onion, just wash onion and knife with cold water before cutting it.

Cut the onion on the side so it don’t roll over the cutting board. The same like with potatoes.