Pork, sauerkraut and kopytka - nothing beats this autumnal dish.
Kopytka - [in the straight translation means Little Hooves. The name refers to the shape of this dish] very popular polish dish, which can be eaten on it's own [with some melted butter with sage or bacon and onions fried until golden and crispy... or something similar] or be used with any fried/roasted meat. It is almost the same as Italian gnocchi, which is possibly more popular name worldwide?
It takes a bit of time to make and it is messy, but no shop purchase can beat the homemade version. very popular in Poland because we often eat potatoes with meat and fish, and, not to eat the same side dish every day, we make different versions of potatoes :-D.
So, yes, Kopytka are based on cooked potatoes. There is also flour and eggs.
Recipe for Kopytka:
this make quite a lot - i thin it would be enough for 6 people easily. Even for me and J it takes two sittings to finish them off!
1 kg of cooked potatoes [no skin; mashed once cooler];
200g of plain wheat flour;
150g of potato flour;
2 eggs
big pot of boiled salted [about 1 tsp] water
Some potatoes may be more watery so may need to adjust the amount of flour.
1. Mix mashed cool/cold potatoes with flours and eggs until you can form a ball. The dough will be a bit sticky, but not too much, so you always need to flour slightly your hands while handling it.
2. The dough need to be smooth, so you can easily form a long very thick "noodle". Cut it diagonally so you get this shape. This is the proper shape of Kopytka.
3. Cook it for few minutes in batches, so they do not stick together. Ones they start floating keep them in water for about 3 minutes and take them out.
Ingredients:
800-1000g of sauerkraut,
2 large onions [roughly chopped],
about 10 prunes [chopped]
4 tbsp of some sour jam [ I used quince jam, but can be cranberry...]
6 large pork escalopes [seasoned with soma salt and pepper]
a lot of herbs - 3 bay-leaves, majoran, rosemary, black pepper, about 1 tbsp of cumin seeds, couple of cloves, few juniper berries, garlic cloves;
some sunflower oil for frying
1. Add one big jar [about 800-1000g] into the ovenproof dish.
2. In the frying pan fry 2 large onions with garlic for 2 minutes. Add herbs, some salt [or better - a cube of chicken stock] and prunes with jam. Fry for another 3-4 minutes until golden. Add onion to the sauerkraut.
3. In the same pan fry slightly [1 minute on each side] seasoned pork.
4. Place pork on top of the onion-sauerkraut mixture.
5. Add some water [about 100 ml] to the empty frying pan to get all the juices, pour that water over the dish.
6. All goes into the oven for about 1.5 in a low heat [about 150- 160C]. For the last 1/2 hour the meat should be covered so it will not burn.
Done! All ready to serve with kopytka. Enjoy!
This is how it looks after taking it straight from the oven [and before eating it in one sitting by two greedy people!!!]. Should be enough for 6, but not in our household :-D
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