Casserole of Creamed Potatoes (Kartofelnaya Zapekanka)

Casserole of Creamed Potatoes (Kartofel'naya Zapekanka)

Casserole of Creamed Potatoes is a savory food made from potatoes.

Potatoes are so much a part of the Russian diet that they are fondly called the vtoroi khleb or ‘second bread’ of the people. But they were not always so popular.

When the potato was first introduced to Russia in the early eighteenth century, the Russians were reluctant to cultivate this strange tuber. Under Catherine the Great attempts were made to popularise the vegetable, but the people still felt suspicious of it, as the Europeans did of the tomato at first.

The Government’s determination to impose the potato on the populace led to conflict in the early nineteenth century, when there were numerous ‘potato rebellions’, culminating in the so-called Potato Mutiny of 1842.

This rebellion, a downright refusal by the peasants to sow potato crops, was the largest popular uprising of the nineteenth century in Russia.

It was only after Tsar Nicholas I issued a harsh edict enforcing cultivation that the peasants submitted to his will, and by 1844 prizes were being offered for the best potato cultivation.

Of course, life in Russia today is unthinkable without the potato, and a favourite way of preparing this ‘second bread’ is in zapekanka.

This Russian version of creamed potatoes is often made livelier with a sauce of dried mushrooms, but if the pungent flavour of wild mushrooms is not to your liking, the casserole may be served plain or with a milder sauce made with cultivated mushrooms.

Ingredients

Details

Serves: 4

Method

Step 1

Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender; then peel and cream them. Stir in the 1 ½ oz (45 g) melted butter, the milk and the salt. Beat in the eggs.

Step 2

While the potatoes are boiling, fry the onions until golden in the 1 oz (30 g) butter mixed with the oil.

Step 3

Grease a 3 pint (1.7 litre) casserole. Pour half of the creamed potatoes into it; smooth the top.

Spread the onions in an even layer over the potatoes, and top the onions with the remaining potatoes. Spread the soured cream over the top.

Step 4

Bake the casserole in a preheated 180°C/350°F/Gas 4 oven for 30 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

How about wine made with potatoes? Potato Wine

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