Cepelinai

Cepelinai or Didžkukuliai are a Lithuanian national dish. They are a type of dumpling made from grated potatoes and usually stuffed with minced meat, although sometimes dry cottage cheese (curd) or mushrooms are used instead.

So named because their shape resembles that of a Zeppelin airship, cepelinai are typically around 10–20 cm long, although the size depends on where they are made: in the western counties of Lithuania cepelinai are made bigger than in the east. After boiling, the cepelinai are served with sour cream sauce and bacon or pork rinds.

Recipe of cepelinai Ingredients 1kg uncooked peeled potatoes 3 or 4 boiled potatoes some salt Filling 300g minced beef or other meat, curd or mushrooms, 1 onion salt, pepper, spices Gravy 75g bacon 1 onion 4 spoonfuls of sour cream salt, pepper

How to cook cepelinai? Peel and grate the raw potatoes, then squeeze out the liquid from the grated potatoes through a cheesecloth. Let the starch settle to the bottom of the liquid, then pour the liquid off and add the starch back to the potatoes. Peel and mash the boiled potatoes, then add them to the grated ones. Add some salt and knead the mass well. Then take approximately egg-sized pieces of this mixture and form into patties. Place spoonfuls of the previously prepared filling into the center of the patties. Most often such a filling is made from minced beef or other meat, curd or mushrooms adding salt and spices. Close the patties around the filling and form them into ovoid shapes. Then place Cepelinai in salted boiling water and cook for approximately 30 minutes. The gravy is prepared by frying bacon and chopped onion, adding sour cream, salt and pepper.

Enjoy your meal!