As promised, this is the recipe I made using leftovers of my pumpkin korma curry.
So I haven't really had time to make a post on my travels to Lithuania this summer (that's something to look forward to, coming soon to a blog near you...), but it's quite an important inspiration for this recipe.
Basically, the Lithuanians have really developed their relationship with potatoes in a completely different way to us (Brits or French). I think this is because their potato varieties have a much higher starch content so most of the recipes take advantage of that using potatoes as a glue-like paste rather than the fluffy/crispy qualities of more common potato recipes in France or England. Turns out, I love glue-like potato paste!
Some favourites were Zeppelins (potato dumplings, think large stuffed gnocchi if the gnocchi was made out of only potato) and potato pancakes (Bulviniai Blini). Unlike most potato pancakes I've sampled in my life time, not that it's been loads but i'm not unfamiliar with the concept, these are only made from potato. No milk, no flour, no egg,... just potato. It gives them a very different texture that I really enjoyed, especially if you manage to get the outside really crispy.
As soon as we got back from Lithuania, my mum and I were on a mission to find a British potato that could give us the closest result to a Lithuanian pancake. And I'm happy to report, we accomplished our mission! The chosen potato was the King Edward, I've only tried pancakes with these but i'm going to have a go at dumplings soon.
Potato pancakes are a great support system for lots of different foods, I was in a Brunch mood (when am I not...) so went for scrambled smoked tofu which has been an absolute revelation!
Don't be afraid to go down the sweet route with them as well, I had the leftovers with apple butter (which I had from making the apple crumble cake, look at me shamelessly plugging away all my old posts in this) and it was delightful.
Ingredients:
4 King Edward Potatoes (if you haven't gathered from my rambling above, the variety is important)
100g Firm Tofu
1 Onion
1 Garlic Clove
90-100g Brussel Sprouts
Leftover Curry
Method:
Finely chop the onion, garlic and Brussel sprouts.
In a pan, cook those three ingredients with a drizzle of vegetable oil and let them brown slightly on a high heat.
Add about 3 Tbsp of water and cook until the sprouts are tender (add more water if necessary).
Crumble the tofu into the pan using your hands and combine with the vegetables, when the tofu is warm then it's ready.
Peel the potatoes.
Heat 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil in a non stick pan to a medium-high heat.
Grate the potatoes into a bowl.
Remove some of the excess water in the bowl by tipping it over the sink but there is no need to strain it.
Spoon in some of the potato onto the pan and flatten it out
Cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown (As you would with pancakes).
Heat up the leftover curry in the microwave.
Assemble by spooning everything on top of the pancakes.
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