Potato dishes
baked pieces of boiled-potato dough
regional living tradition
Dzūkija, boiled potatoes, flour, egg, mushroom sauce, cracklings, oven
Dzūkian švilpikai, Potato švilpikai
A Dzūkija potato dish
Švilpikai are often associated with Dzūkija, where potatoes and forest mushrooms are an important part of the kitchen. In the Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia's overview of Lithuanian foods, švilpikai are also identified as potato bulbonai, one of the many potato foods that spread in Lithuania in the nineteenth century, when the potato became a foundation of the everyday table.
The name is playful, but the dish is highly practical: boiled potatoes become a filling hot meal. Yesterday's potatoes work especially well because they are drier and easier to shape.
For that reason švilpikai are an economical example of potato cooking: not a new luxury dish, but a way to re-bake and raise a plain boiled potato into a separate meal.
Why use little flour?
Švilpikai dough needs to hold its shape without turning into a floury dumpling. In a Beatos virtuvė recipe, only a few spoonfuls of flour are used for half a kilogram of boiled potatoes, which shows the principle of the proportions well.
If the potatoes are wet, it is tempting to add more flour, but then the švilpikai become hard. It is better to cool and dry the potatoes and shape them patiently.
The sauce is half the dish
Švilpikai themselves are fairly mild, so mushroom, crackling, or sour-cream sauce supplies much of the flavor.
Dried mushroom sauce fits the Dzūkija character especially well.
Recipe
How are švilpikai made?
Švilpikai turn out best when made from dry, cooled boiled potatoes. Add just enough flour for the mixture to hold its shape, but not so much that it becomes hard.
Ingredients
- 1 kg boiled potatoes
- 1 egg
- 150-200 g flour
- Salt
- Mushroom or crackling sauce for serving
Method
- Cool the boiled potatoes and mash them.
- Mix in the egg, salt, and flour. Knead into a soft mass.
- Shape into rolls and cut into fingers or diamonds.
- Bake in a 200 °C oven until browned, or brown them in a pan.
- Serve with mushroom, sour-cream, or crackling sauce.
Notes
Too much flour makes švilpikai hard.
