Belarus – Stuffed Potatoes and Cabbage Roll
eople like this dish in my country, it’s lovely, Larisa explains as she gives me the recipe for stuffed potatoes. Speaking about the stuffed cabbage she grins, kisses her fingers and says; This is really lovely!
The dishes are also popular in Moldovia, the Ukraine, Lithuania and Bellarus with slight variations. Of all the foods from home Larisa misses salted fish and black bread the most.
Ingredients
- 3 large potatoes
- 300 g of minced pork or other meat
- 1 medium sized onion
- 1 egg
- Salt & pepper
- Cooking oil
Chop the onion and put it in a mixing bowl with the minced pork, pepper and salt. Use the egg to bind the mixture and make small meatballs.
Grate the potatoes, add salt and squeeze the liquid out in a muslin cloth. Take the liquid out get rid of the starch. Flatten a quantity in your palm and make a small patty. Place a meatball on it and then pinch the patty closed.
Do this with the rest of the meatballs and grated potato.
Fry the stuffed potatoes in oil, turning them occasionally.
Drain the oil off them and place them in a saucepan with about 100cl of water and cook them for 15 minutes.
Stuffed cabbage Roll
Quantities can be varied according to taste
- Cabbage leaves
- Any type of cooked minced meat
- Small amount of cooked rice
- Finely chopped carrot
- Finely chopped onion
- Salt & pepper
- Cream
Blanch the cabbage leaves to soften them.
Mix the cooked mince, rice, chopped carrot and onion, salt and pepper in a bowl. Use an egg to bind if necessary, as you now need to roll the mixture into sausage shapes.
Lay a cabbage leaf on a chopping board and cut in half long ways, making sure to remove the ‘spine’ as you do so.
Place a ‘sausage’ in the middle of each halved leaf and wrap the half leaf carefully around it as if making an envelope.
Boil the stuffed cabbage leaves for 20 – 25 minutes.
Serve with cream!
Please see below the basic demonstration of the above recipe. Please note there can be a bit difference in the ingredients used.