Potato Kugelis

My mother's mom, Ann, was Lithuanian and always a great cook.  Nothing fancy just simple good food.  She is no longer with us and we miss her a lot, but she left us a legacy that I hope to pass on to you.  Some of her specialties were Meatloaf, Chiffon Cakes, Kolachky (one of the first recipes posted on this blog), stuffed cabbage, and potato kugelis.


Kugelis is, in short, a thick heavy 'pudding'.  The easiest way to say it, is it is very similar to a potato pancake without being fried.  Potato kugelis is no stranger to flavor with simple ingredients such as bacon and onion.


I made this side dish with breaded and fried pork chops over the weekend and it immediately brought back some great memories.  Though you can serve it with sour cream or applesauce, we ate ours plain.  Gramma, where ever you are, this one is for you!

Potato Kugelis
10 large potatoes
1  medium onion
5  slices bacon

2  teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ cup hot milk or evaporated milk

3 eggs

1.  Peel and grade fine the potatoes and onion. 

2.  Cut bacon cross-wise into narrow strips, fry until crisp; pour fat and bacon over potatoes in bowl.  Add hot milk.  Add beaten eggs one at a time.  Add salt and pepper.

3.  Pour into greased square or rectangle pan.  Bake at 400˚ for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 375˚ and bake for 45 minutes more.  Cut into squares and serve with sour cream. 

Hints:  Depth of the grated potato mixture should be no less than 2 ½ inches in baking dish.

Kugelis may be used for stuffing meat roasts.  Possibly meatloaf.