Lithuanian Potato Dumplings with Meat, Bacon and Sour Cream

Choose mature, starchy potatoes (cooking type C); watery new potatoes are not suitable for this dough. Set aside 500 g from the 2000 g of weighed, peeled potatoes, cut them into pieces about 3 cm across and put them in a saucepan with 1000 ml cold water and 4 g salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer gently for about 20–25 minutes, until a knife slides easily into the center. Drain thoroughly, let the potatoes steam dry over low heat for about 1 minute and pass them through a potato ricer. Spread them thinly on a wide plate and leave for about 25–30 minutes, until completely cool; do not add warm potatoes to the raw mixture. Prepare the filling while they cool.

Dice the 100 g onion for the filling very finely; finely dice the remaining 150 g and set aside for the topping. Mix 400 g ground pork with the 100 g onion, 4 g salt and the full 1 g pepper, working briefly by hand until the filling holds together. Divide into 8 equal portions and shape into short logs about 7 cm long. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the dough.

Grate the remaining 1500 g potatoes using the fine rasping side of a grater, as for potato pancakes, without leaving long shreds. Transfer the grated potatoes in batches to a strong, clean kitchen towel or several layers of cheesecloth and squeeze firmly over a large bowl. The mixture should be compact and slightly moist, but it must not drip or release a trickle of juice when squeezed lightly; do not squeeze it completely dry. Cover the squeezed potatoes. Leave the juice undisturbed for 10 minutes, then slowly pour off the liquid, keeping all the pale starch that has settled at the bottom.

Combine the squeezed grated potatoes, all the recovered starch, the completely cooled cooked potatoes, 40 g store-bought potato starch and 8 g salt. Knead by hand for about 2–3 minutes, until even and easy to flatten in your palm without crumbling or releasing liquid. Crush any lumps of cooked potato. The mixture should stay slightly moist and pliable, not crumbly; do not add water or any more flour. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.

As you shape the dumplings, start heating 3800 ml water with 20 g salt in a wide pot with a capacity of at least 7 liters and a diameter of about 28 cm. With lightly dampened hands, flatten each piece of dough into an oval about 1 cm thick. Place a portion of filling in the center, lift the edges of the dough and seal them carefully over the meat, pressing out any air pockets. Smooth the seam and the ends; the filling must be completely enclosed, with the potato layer as even as possible. Shape 8 elongated dumplings about 11–12 cm long and about 6 cm wide. Do not leave any cracks. Set aside four for the first batch; cover and refrigerate the rest while that batch cooks.

Bring the salted water you started heating while shaping the dumplings to a boil. Mix the remaining 40 g starch thoroughly with 200 ml cold water, immediately pour it into the pot in a thin stream while stirring, and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat: the liquid should simmer gently, without bubbling vigorously. Cook 4 dumplings at a time in the wide pot so they are not crowded; use the same water for both batches.

Using a wide slotted spoon, carefully lower 4 dumplings into the water, one at a time and without overlapping them. Once the liquid returns to a gentle simmer, cook for about 40 minutes with the lid slightly ajar. After the first 2–3 minutes, gently loosen only any dumplings that have stuck to the bottom; after that, do not stir or turn them. Floating does not mean the raw meat is cooked. After 40 minutes, lift out the largest dumpling and cut it open: the filling must be hot in the center and fully set, with no raw, pasty meat, and the dough should be uniform, without a layer of raw potato. If needed, cook for another 5–10 minutes. While this batch cooks, prepare the topping and preheat a conventional oven (no fan) to 70°C.

Cut the bacon into cubes about 5 mm across and put them in a cold skillet. Cook over medium-low heat for about 8–10 minutes, stirring, until the fat renders and the bacon starts to brown. Add the reserved 150 g onion and continue cooking together for about 6–8 minutes, until the onion is soft and lightly golden and the bacon is browned. Keep all the rendered fat. Use a little of it to lightly grease the bottom of a wide ovenproof dish, and leave the rest of the topping in the skillet.

Let the cooked dumplings from the first batch, including the halves of the one you checked, drain on the spoon, then arrange in a single layer in the prepared dish. Spread half the topping over them, cover tightly and keep in the oven at 70°C only while the next batch cooks, about 40–45 minutes. Bring the water in the pot back to a gentle simmer. Cook the remaining 4 dumplings in the same way: about 40 minutes after the water returns to a gentle simmer, with the same check of the filling. Carefully lift them out and drain; do not serve the starchy cooking water.

Briefly reheat the topping left in the skillet. Arrange 2 large dumplings on each of 4 plates, including the halves cut open to check doneness; add all the topping from the skillet and the ovenproof dish. Spoon 50 g cool sour cream beside each serving, using the full 200 g. Serve immediately, while the potato dough is soft and the filling is hot.