Zeppelins

Simple, one might even say rustic dish, zeppelins – very popular in traditional Lithuanian cuisine.

They are prepared similarly to pies, but instead of dough, a mixture of raw grated potatoes, mashed potatoes and starch is used, while the filling consists of raw meat.
The water in which the zeppelins will be boiled is thickened with starch. Meanwhile, a frying of onion and cracklings (rendered fat with meat layers) is prepared, which will be served together with the finished zeppelins.

Cuisine: Lithuanian.

Caloric content: 166 kcal per 100 grams of the dish.

Cooking time: 60 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings.

Ingredients

• potatoes – 850 g;
• potato starch – 1 heaping teaspoon;
• pork tenderloin – 220 g;
• onion – 120 g;
• fat with meat layers – 100 g;
• salt, freshly ground pepper – to taste.

Preparation

1. Prepare the ingredients. The potatoes need to be divided into 2 parts – 500 grams will be needed raw, and 350 grams will need to be boiled.

2. Cut 350 grams of potatoes into smaller pieces so they cook faster. Place them in a pot, cover with water and boil until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork.

3. Grate the remaining 500 grams of tubers on a medium grater.

4. Now, the resulting mass needs to have the juice removed. To make this easier, first place the potato mash in a sieve and, pressing with a spoon or spatula, squeeze out some of the liquid.

5. Then transfer the now less moist mass into cheesecloth, folded into 3-4 layers (a linen towel can be used). It takes quite some effort to remove as much juice from the potatoes as possible.

6. In the end, a very dry potato straw should result.

7. Do not pour out the potato juice that was collected – it will still be useful.

8. Prepare the filling for the zeppelins. To do this, grind the meat pieces in a meat grinder together with half an onion.

9. Mix the minced meat well, adding salt and pepper.

10. By this time, the potatoes should be cooked. Drain the water and mash them into a puree.

11. The potato juice has settled, and the starch has sunk to the bottom. Pour the liquid fraction into another container.

12. Add the starch to the bowl with the grated raw potatoes and boiled (in the form of puree).

13. Add salt to the mixture and knead very thoroughly to ensure the starch is evenly distributed throughout the mass.

14. Divide the potato dough into 4 parts and roll them into balls.

15. From the filling, prepare 4 oval patties.

16. With wet hands, flatten the dough to a thickness of about 1.5 centimeters, placing the meat filling in the center.

17. Pinch the edges of the patty like a pie.

18. Roll the preparation in your palms, occasionally patting it down until it takes the desired shape with a smooth surface.

19. Place the zeppelins on a board.

20. Pour 70-100 milliliters of potato juice into a glass and dissolve the starch in it.

21. Bring 3 liters of water to a boil, adding 0.5 teaspoons of salt.

22. While constantly stirring, pour the dissolved starch into the boiling water.

23. When the liquid boils, carefully immerse the preparations into it.

24. Under no circumstances should the zeppelins be stirred – they may fall apart. The pot needs to be gently shaken from time to time, holding both handles to help the dumplings turn over. When they float to the surface, boil them for 15-17 minutes.

25. Prepare the frying. To do this, cut the fat and onion into medium cubes.

26. In a dry frying pan, first melt the fat, then add the onion and lightly fry.

27. Carefully remove the zeppelins with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate.

Serve the zeppelins with sour cream. The frying can be placed on top or in a separate dish. Sometimes sour cream is simply mixed with the cracklings – it's a matter of taste. Thus, from ordinary ingredients, an unusual and hearty Lithuanian dish is prepared. Zeppelins are also made with cottage cheese, using it instead of meat filling. Then this dish is considered a dessert.