The dough is made simply: boiled potatoes mashed up with flour and a pinch of salt. The cook rolls the dough into a thin circle and then cooks it on a hot dry pan, with no oil, for about a minute on each side. The pancake puffs up a little, then flattens, and gets dotted with golden-brown spots.
Lokše are an autumn favourite. They go especially well with roast duck, and the slow-cooked duck fat is brushed over the pancake to make it tasty and shiny. Stuffed with duck, cabbage and a bit of horseradish, a rolled-up lokše becomes a warming meal all on its own.
Sweet lokše are just as popular. Spread one with strawberry jam, sprinkle with poppy seeds, or pour honey on top, then roll it up. Slovak grandparents have been making them this way for grandchildren for generations.
What is great about lokše is how flexible they are. The dough can be made from leftover potatoes. The filling can be anything in the fridge. They are quick, cheap, filling, and they taste of home. Markets all over Slovakia sell them straight off the pan in autumn, with the cook fanning a long stack to keep them warm.