Fayetteville resident Jamie Bur- ris submitted a family recipe for a Northern European dish that blends potatoes, bacon, onions and eggs to make a simple and satisfy- ing casserole.
As a recent winner in the ongo- ing Just a Pinch Recipe Club Con- test, Burris will receive travel tick- ets for two to Nashville, Tenn., two nights’ hotel accommodations, a $1,000 shopping spree at the Viking Culinary Arts Center and, if seats are available, a pair of tickets to the Grand Ole Opry.
Submissions for the next phase of the contest will be accepted through Aug. 15. Entries of your best “for kids” recipes can be made online at justapinch.com/contest/
creative-cooking-for-kids. Also, email them to dining@nwaonline. com to have them considered for publication in the weekly Dining Guide.
“Brought to the U.S. from Lithu- ania by her grandfather, Jamie con- tinues making this tried-and-true favorite today,” said Janet Tharpe of Just a Pinch Recipe Club on its website at justapinch.com. “Part casserole and part bacony hash brown, we found it so tasty, it won the grand prize in the Heirloom Recipe Contest.”
“My great-grandparents emi- grated from Lithuania in the early 20th century and brought with them this potato recipe that I have been eating my whole life,” Burris said. “My grandfather actually had to teach my grandmother to make
it, who in turn taught my mother, and my mother taught me. Defi- nitely, an heirloom recipe.”
Kugelis (Lithuanian hashbrown casserole)
5 lbs. red or Yukon Gold pota- toes
6 thick-cut bacon slices 1 medium onion 7 eggs 12-oz. can evaporated milk 1 tbsp. salt (more or less to
taste) 1 tsp. pepper (to taste) Sour cream
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a frying pan, cook bacon un- til crispy. Place on paper towel to cool. Set aside bacon fat to cool, as well. When bacon is cool, chop
finely in food processor. Beat eggs, evaporated milk, salt,
pepper and bacon fat. Add bacon and mix well. Peel the potatoes and shred in food processor. The po- tatoes should be shredded as the last step to keep them from turn- ing dark. Shred onion with the po- tato. Mix potatoes/onion with the egg mixture completely and pour into a greased, 10x15-inch baking dish. Bake and test for doneness at 1 hour. Like a cake, it will pull from the sides of the pan when done and a knife should come out clean.
Slice and garnish with sour cream. Once cooled, the kugelis can be sliced thin and fried with butter as a side with eggs for break- fast.