This is one of those dishes that grows on you. It is not as flavor-packed as it's French potato gratin cousins, but it's inexpensive, simple, and comforting. It is delicious topped with the sautéed mushrooms, or make a simple sour cream sauce for it — by doubling the onions and bacon called for in the kugelis recipe, pulling half of each aside into a small saucepan, and adding a few tablespoons of sour cream to the mixture. Simmer over low heat until the cream is melted. While the bacon is optional in the potato pie, the dish needs a sauce or side to pop the flavor without it.
Potato Pie (Kugelis)
6 slices bacon (~6-8 oz total), cut into ribbons
4 tablespoons salted butter
1 small onion
1 teaspoon chopped, fresh thyme
4 large Russet potatoes, peeled and rinsed
3 large eggs
½ cup whole milk
¼ sour cream (or sub another ¼ cup of milk)
½ a lemon
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven to 375°. Butter a large (~8x12-inch, ~3-quart) casserole dish.
Place a 10- to 12-inch skillet on medium heat. Add bacon strips. Sauté 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly crisped.
While it bacon cooks, grate onion on smallest holes of food processor or larger holes of a box grater.
Remove bacon from skillet with a slotted spoon. Add butter to same skillet, using a wooden spoon to deglaze pan. Once butter is melted, add onions and thyme. Lower heat, stirring frequently until onions are lightly caramelized, about 3-5 minutes.
While onions are cooking, grate the potatoes in same manner as onion. Place a clean dish towel or piece of cheesecloth inside a large mixing bowl. Add grated potatoes to bowl atop the towel.
If the potatoes were grated in a food processor, swap out the grating blade for the chopping or grinding blade. Place ¼ of the grated potatoes in processor and grind to a pulp. Add the ground potatoes back to the bowl with the grated potatoes. (If box-grated, skip this step.)
Wrap the potatoes in the towel or cheesecloth and squeeze out as much of the potato juice as possible. Empty any liquid from the bowel, and place the potatoes back in the bowl, this time without the towel.
Add the sautéd onions and thyme, eggs, milk, sour cream, and salt and pepper to the same bowl. Squeeze in the juice of the lemon. Mix thoroughly.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 1 ½ hrs.
Sautéed Mushrooms in Cream Sauce
1 tablespoon salted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 lb fresh mushrooms (ideally a mix mushrooms, such as cremini, chanterelles, hen-of-the-woods)
salt and black pepper, to taste
½ teaspoon chopped, fresh thyme
2 tablespoons sour cream
½ a lemon
1 teaspoon chopped, fresh chives
Clean the mushrooms gently with a damp cloth or paper towel to remove any dirt. If using larger mushrooms, cut them into pieces, using quartering, halving, and slicing depending on the mushroom shape and size.
In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and thyme, and cook for 3-4 minutes until the onions are translucent.
Add the mushrooms. Salt and pepper liberally, and sauté. If the mushrooms stick to the pan, deglaze with water. At some point the mushrooms will release their juice. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 5–7 minutes until the mushrooms soften and begin to brown and most of the liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat.
Stir in the sour cream. Squeeze the lemon atop and mix in most of the chive, leaving a pinch for garnish. Taste for seasoning.
Transfer the mushrooms to a serving dish and garnish with remaining chives.
FUN FACTS:
Vilnius, Lithuania's capital, is the only major city in Europe where you can fly a hot air balloon.
Lithuania created the first national perfume in the world in 2011, which has notes of bergamot, wild berries, amber, local flowers, ginger, grapefruit, moss and smoke.
Lithuania was the first Soviet republic to declare independence from the USSR.
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