Mešta (potato žganci)

The photo shows mešta (potato žganci). Žganci (a savoury type of ‘Pauper’s Kaiserschmarrn’, made of water and flour) were ‘our daily bread’ long after the end of WWII. Dinner was, for example, žganci with roux soup and the left-over žganci were eaten the next day as breakfast with white (chicory) coffee. They cooked buckwheat or corn žganci or, alternatively, mešta – ‘žganci’ from potatoes and white flour. Sauerkraut and sour turnips were also a constant companion on the table in the winter, as they were easily preserved and thus represented a cheap source of vitamins throughout the winter. If they could afford a pinch of cracklings, the dish was considered a real treat.