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1
Boil & Rice the Potatoes
25 Mins
Boiling water, 100°C (212°F)
Boil the 500 g of potatoes in salted water until completely tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Drain well and rice them while still hot into a large bowl. Let them cool a little.
Rice while hot — cold potatoes turn gluey and will not bind the dough properly.
Done when: A bowl of dry, fluffy riced potato.
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2
Mix the Pork Filling
10 Mins
Room temperature
Combine the ground pork, 100 g of finely chopped onion, garlic, marjoram, black pepper, 3 g of salt and the beaten egg. Mix with your hands until it holds together, then divide into 8 equal portions and roll each into a firm oval.
Mix just until combined — overworking the meat makes the filling tough.
Done when: Eight firm, smooth ovals of seasoned pork.
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3
Grate & Squeeze the Raw Potatoes
20 Mins
Room temperature
Finely grate the 1500 g of raw potatoes into a bowl, stirring in the lemon juice as you go so they do not grey. Tip the pulp into a clean cloth and squeeze hard until no more liquid runs out. Pour the liquid into a bowl, let it sit for a few minutes, then pour off the water and keep the white starch at the bottom.
Squeeze in small batches — you will get far more liquid out than squeezing it all at once.
Done when: Dry grated potato pulp and a spoonful of white potato starch.
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4
Make the Dough & Shape the Dumplings
15 Mins
Room temperature
Mix the dry grated potato with the riced potato, the reserved starch, the potato starch and 5 g of salt until you have a smooth, firm dough. Wet your hands, flatten a piece of dough in your palm, set a pork oval in the middle, and close the dough around it, shaping a smooth, pointed oval like a small zeppelin. Repeat for all 8 dumplings.
Wet hands stop the dough sticking, and a smooth surface with no cracks is what keeps the filling inside while boiling.
Done when: Eight smooth, crack-free, zeppelin-shaped dumplings.
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5
Boil Gently Until Tender
25 Mins
Simmering water, 100°C (212°F)
Bring a very large pot of salted water to the boil, add a spoonful of potato starch, then turn it down to a gentle simmer. Lower the dumplings in one at a time and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes, turning them gently once, until they are tender all the way through and the pork inside has reached 74°C (165°F). Lift out with a slotted spoon.
Keep the water at a gentle simmer, never a hard boil — violent boiling tears the dumplings open.
Done when: Tender dumplings that float and feel firm but yielding, with no raw potato taste.
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6
Fry the Spirgai & Serve
10 Mins
Medium heat, ~175°C (350°F)
While the dumplings cook, fry the diced bacon in a pan over medium heat until it starts to crisp, then add the remaining 150 g of onion and cook until soft and golden. Spoon two hot dumplings onto each plate, scatter the bacon and onion over them, and add a generous dollop of sour cream.
Fry the bacon first so its fat cooks the onion — the onion should go soft and sweet, not brown and bitter.
Done when: Crisp bacon and soft golden onion, ready to spoon over the dumplings.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve the cepelinai the moment they leave the pot, two to a plate, drowned in hot spirgai with sour cream on the side — the dumplings are at their best steaming hot, with the cool cream cutting through the rich bacon.
Lithuania
1h 30m
France
Vietnam