Lithuania
Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, croppedCepelinai
/t͡sʲɛpʲɛˈlʲɪnɐɪ/tseh-peh-LEE-nai
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- Taste
- RichSavory
- Made with
- PotatoPorkDairy & cheese
History
Cepelinai are large oval dumplings of grated raw and boiled potato, filled with minced pork or with dry curd cheese, and served with a sauce of sour cream, fried onions and bacon bits. Their shape gave them their modern name: they were called after the Zeppelin airships in the early 1900s, while older names were didžkukuliai, big dumplings. Potatoes became Lithuania's staple in the 1800s, and potato dishes are at the heart of its cooking. Cepelinai are heavy and filling, and many families make them on weekends and for holidays; grating kilos of potatoes and squeezing out the water is hard work. They are seen as the national dish, and sizes vary by region, with larger ones in the west.
Sources
