What is cepelinai – national Lithuanian dish?

If you are looking for a hearty and satisfying dish from Lithuania, you might want to try cepelinai, the national dish of this Baltic country. Cepelinai are potato dumplings stuffed with spiced ground meat, cheese or mushrooms, and served with a creamy sauce and crispy bacon bits. They are named after zeppelins, the German airships, because of their oval shape and large size. In this blog post, I will show you how to make cepelinai at home, and share some interesting facts about this traditional dish.

Cepelinai are made from two types of potatoes: raw and cooked. The raw potatoes are peeled and grated, then squeezed in a cheesecloth to remove the excess water and starch. The cooked potatoes are peeled, boiled and riced. The raw potatoes are mixed with the reserved starch, salt and cornstarch to form a dough. The cooked potatoes are used to make the filling, which can be either ground meat, cheese or mushrooms. The meat filling is usually a mix of pork, beef and veal, seasoned with onion, salt, pepper and egg. The cheese filling is made from dry curd cheese (also known as farmer’s cheese), which is similar to cottage cheese but firmer and less moist. The mushroom filling is made from chopped mushrooms sautéed with onion, salt and pepper.

To shape the cepelinai, you need to take a handful of potato dough and flatten it on your palm. Then, place a spoonful of filling in the center and wrap the dough around it, sealing the edges well. You should end up with a smooth oval dumpling that resembles a zeppelin. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling until you have used them all. You can make the cepelinai as big or as small as you like, but traditionally they are about 10 to 20 cm long.

To cook the cepelinai, you need to bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Carefully drop the dumplings into the boiling water and simmer them for about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on their size. They are done when they float to the surface and the potato dough is cooked through. You can test one by cutting it open and checking if the filling is cooked as well.

To serve the cepelinai, you need to make a sauce and some bacon bits. The sauce is made from sour cream mixed with milk and seasoned with salt and pepper. The bacon bits are made from diced bacon fried in a skillet until crisp. You can also use pork rinds instead of bacon for extra crunch. To plate the cepelinai, spoon some sauce over them and sprinkle some bacon bits on top. Enjoy them while they are hot and tender.

Cepelinai are a delicious and filling dish that showcases the simplicity and richness of Lithuanian cuisine. They are perfect for cold winter days or special occasions. They are also a great way to use up leftover potatoes or cheese. If you want to learn more about cepelinai and other Lithuanian dishes, you can check out these sources:

• Lithuanian Potato-Meat Dumplings (Cepelinai) Recipe – The Spruce Eats
• Cepelinai – Wikipedia
• Cepelinai | Traditional Dumplings From Lithuania, Baltic – TasteAtlas

I hope you enjoyed this blog post and learned something new about cepelinai. If you decide to make them at home, let me know how they turn out in the comments below. Bon appetit!