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The Mighty Potato
Among the many offerings claiming to be the Lithuanian national dish, the potato-based beast that is cepelinai (from 'zeppelins', the big blimps they resemble) would probably be the outright winner in a culinary photo finish. Here’s a brief guide, explaining just how to make the little monsters. The recipe should suffice to feed an average of four Lithuanians or about 100 non-natives.
Finely grate 20 medium-sized potatoes and boil three more until soft. Take 1kg of pork or beef, grind, and mix together with an egg, chopped onions and salt and pepper to taste. Take the grated potatoes a fistful at a time and wrap each blob in a mesh cloth. Squeeze out the water with all your might and save the residue. Put this ‘dough’ inside a big bowl, and extract the starchy bit lying at the bottom of the post-squeezing wastewater. Mix together the starch, dough and the three boiled potatoes until you have something resembling a large bowl of gloop. Finally, make an oblong of what you’ve got, put a big blob of the meat mixture on top, wrap the dough around the meat until you have something resembling a scale model of a blimp, and drop into boiling water for somewhere in the region of 45 minutes. Whilst the blimps are bubbling, fry some chopped pork fat and onions together in a pan. Remove the blimps from the water and lay on a plate. Take a large pot of sour cream and pour over the cepelinai. Last but not least, sprinkle the fried fat and onions over the top and serve to an amazed-looking audience. Say the word skanaus (enjoy your meal) to each assembled diner, tuck into a few of the creatures yourself and wash down with large quantities of beer and vodka. Congratulations, you are now qualified to marry a Lithuanian in Kaunas, most Lithuanian city in Lithuania.
Latest Comments
Bella Italia gets my vote. This was frankly a second choice as the restaurant I was going to was full!I enjoyed, first, good service, nice pint, probably the best Steak Meal I have eaten in a long time. This is well worth a visit. Great value....I w[...]
Per isegines buvome uzeja papietauti Kauno Akropolyje i PIZZA HUT ,taciau likome labai nusivyle,aptarnavimu ir maistu.Teko dauk kartu lankytis PIZZA HUT amerikoje cia lietuvoje toli grazu nuo relybes visai nepanasu.BBQ vistienos sparneliai paprasti visai neastrus patiekemi su paprastu keciupu o ne su BBQ padazu jau nekalbu, kur is tikruju turetu buti su Blue chese padazu kaip amerikoje ar kitu saliu PIZZA HUT> Aptarnavimas pasibaisetinas sedi su keliu menesiu kudikiu mato ,kad vaikas neramus verkia mazai turim laiko,dasikviesti neymanoma nors stovi ir kikena visa kruva jaunu padaveju prie baro.Vienu zodziu kiek suprantame vadovybe turetu pasiziureti,kaip tokios istaigos veikia europoje,arba uz atlanto .Ir bent jau negadintu PIZZA HUT vardo ir patiekalu.
Editor's note:
Here's a quick translation of the key points:
1 - Disappointing and not at all like Pizza Hut in other countries.
2 - BBQ chicken wings are not spicy at all and come with plain old ketchup.
3 - The service was terrible.
4 - They are ruining the Pizza Hut name.[...]
Now they've opened a very stylish wine cellar in the same place.
- We will check it out soon, Ed.[...]