Hey steemers!
I thought it's time to share some traditional Lithuania dish Cepelinai recipe !
Cepelinai are very popular in Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Poland and in every country it's slightly different! 😇 today I'm sharing this recipe from Lithuania!
Cepelinai are made from potatoes with pork mince inside (or it can be used any mince, your preference ) If you ever will visit any of these countries I have mentioned above you really need to try this dish!
INGREDIENTS:
For the potato dough:
3 kg | 6 lb 9 oz potatoes
2 tsp salt
Potato starch or cornflour, as required. (See method below.)
For the meat filling:
500 g | 1 lb 2 oz pork mince (ground pork)
I egg
I onion
1 tsp salt
1 little bit of pepper
You can add some herbs too
For the topping:
250 g | 9 oz smoked bacon belly (side) or pancetta, finely diced
400 g | 14 oz onion (about 4-5 medium onions), finely chopped
Mushrooms
To serve:
8 Tbsp sour cream / crème fraîche
METHOD:
Peel the potatoes, placing the potatoes into a large bowl of cold water as they are peeled to ensure they do not turn brown.
Then grate or purée use either the zesting side of a box grater or purée the potatoes to a very fine pulp in a food processor. If using a food processor you will need to process the potatoes in two batches to ensure there are no small lumps left in the purée.
Pour the purée into a large piece of butter muslin or cheesecloth set over a large bowl. Gather the corners of the material and twist to squeeze out all water from the potatoes. This can take 5-10 minutes depending on the variety of potato and the strength of your hands.
When no further water can be squeezed from the grated potato, carefully transfer the dry grated potato to a large bowl.
Take the liquid from squeezed potatoes and set a side! ( I usually use clear bowl so I can see on the bottom of the bowl when is potato starch formed )
Add the salt to the dry potato and mix well with your hands!
Take the liquid from squeezed potatoes poor liquid out slowly until just potato starch is left.
Combine starch with potato and mix very well.
The resultant dough should be roughly the consistency of play dough – it should form a smooth ball easily but should not stick to your hands. The consistency of the dough is key to the success of your final cepelinai. If it is too wet it will stick to your hands as you form your dumplings. If it is too dry it will crack as you form the dumplings and they may split or fall apart during cooking.
In a separate bowl, add the pork mince (ground pork), salt, pepper, egg, onion and mixed herbs.Mix thoroughly using your hands.
Divide both the potato dough and meat mixture into 8 equal portions ( or depending on how small cepelinai you would like ) and lay out on a plate or worktop ready for assembly. Form the meat into tight balls the shape of a rugby ball (American football).
You are now ready to form your cepelinai. Take a portion of dough and flatten it against the palm of your hand until it is roughly the shape of your hand and just under 1 cm (½ inch) thick, turning regularly as you shape the dough to ensure it does not stick to your hands.
Place a piece of meat on the centre of the dough, fold the sides of the dough over the top of the meat and pinch the dough together firmly to seal the join. Firmly press the dumpling between your two palms, rotating the dumpling little by little, to form the classic zeppelin shape.
Ensure there are no cracks on the surface of the dumpling. If you find any cracks, dip your fingertip into the juice from the grated potatoes and gently smooth over the cracks to seal them.
Continue with the remaining ingredients until you have assembled all your cepelinai.
Half-fill a 7 litre / 7 quart saucepan, Dutch oven or other large saucepan with cold water and set over a high heat. When the water is boiling carefully add the dumplings to the saucepan. (They will initially sink to the bottom, but will later float to the surface.) Cover the saucepan with a lid, bring the water back to the boil, then reduce the heat to very low so that the water is just barely simmering – if the water is boiling too hard the dumplings might split. Simmer for 45 minutes.
While the cepelinai are cooking make the spirgučiai. Add the bacon pieces to a frying pan or saucepan and set over a high heat. There is no need to add any oil or fat as the fat will render from the bacon. When the bacon pieces are golden and starting to crisp, add the onion, mushrooms and reduce the heat to medium Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and just starting to turn brown.
To serve, carefully lift the cepelinai from the saucepan
using a slotted spoon and place on a bowl or plate. Top with a spoon of spirgučiai and a dollop of sour cream.(I usually mix sour cream with all bacon peaces together and then poor on cepelinai!)
