Potato Zrazy with Ground Meat

Name: Potato Zrazy with Ground Meat
Ingredients: 1 kg potatoes; 250 g ground meat (I used ground beef); 150 g onion; 3 tbsp breadcrumbs; 300 g flour; 1 egg; salt; pepper; vegetable oil for frying; 50 g butter for serving; 50 g cheese for serving

Potato zrazy are made in many countries around the world and come in countless variations — Lithuanian cepelinai and Belarusian potato kolduny are great examples. What they all have in common is a potato dough filled with meat or mushrooms. Potato zrazy can be either boiled or pan-fried in plenty of oil. This recipe yielded 14 pieces for me. Because there isn't much flour, the dough turns out quite sticky, and at first it might seem tricky to shape the zrazy — but wet hands make it totally manageable. It's best not to add extra flour, as too much will overpower the potato flavor and the dough may end up tasting bland.

Ingredients:

1 kg potatoes
250 g ground meat (I used ground beef)
150 g onion
3 tbsp breadcrumbs
300 g flour
1 egg
salt
pepper
vegetable oil for frying
50 g butter for serving
50 g cheese for serving

How to cook potato zrazy with ground meat

Boil the potatoes in their skins in salted water until fully cooked. Let cool.

Peel the onion and finely chop it.

Sauté the onion in vegetable oil until translucent.

Add the breadcrumbs, stir to combine, and cook for 2–3 minutes.

Add the ground meat and stir to combine. Cook for approximately 15–20 minutes, until the meat is fully cooked through. Break the ground meat apart with a spatula as it cooks so it browns evenly. Season the cooked meat with salt and pepper and stir to combine.

Peel the potatoes and grate them on the large holes of a box grater.

Add the egg, season lightly with salt, and mix well.

Add the flour in portions, mixing thoroughly after each addition (the dough will remain fairly sticky).

Wet your hands thoroughly with water. Pinch off a piece of dough. Flat it into a disk in your palms, then place a portion of the filling in the center.

Fold the edges of the dough over the filling and shape it into a ball. Place the finished balls on a wet plate as you go. Shape all the balls the same way, re-wetting your hands each time.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt it. Lower the zrazy into the boiling water (I used a slotted spoon). Cook for 10 minutes after they float to the surface.