Potato pudding

2 HOURS | SERVES 6 | EASY | LC GF

This is the ultimate comfort food and another iconic Lithuanian dish. Very similar to the Ashkenazi Jewish dish kugel, from which it is almost certainly derived, it is also typically made from potato. The perfect potato pudding is soft and fluffy, though many home cooks hold their own opinion on whether you should strain off the liquid when grating the potatoes, which gives a drier result, or keep the liquid, resulting in a moister dish. Both are good, it is simply a matter of taste.

smoked bacon 140g, diced

whole milk 75ml

eggs 2

onion 1/2

starchy potatoes (such as Désirée, Charlotte or Russet) 800g, peeled

fine sea salt 1Ω tsp

ground white pepper a large pinch

butter 25g

TO SERVE

apple or lingonberry jam

soured cream

cucumber salad

• Fry the bacon in a frying pan over a medium heat until just brown. Pour in the milk and remove from the heat.

• Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Using a box grater or a food processor fitted with the fine grater attachment, grate the onions and potatoes (this will be a lot of work manually, so if you have a machine, use it). Add the grated onions and potatoes to the eggs and stir to combine, then pour over the bacon and milk mixture, and again combine well. Season with the salt and white pepper.

• Melt the butter in a cast-iron frying pan or rub it over a small-medium roasting tin to evenly coat the bottom and sides. Pour the pudding mixture into the pan or tin and bake in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Serve with apple or lingonberry jam, soured cream and cucumber salad.

PER SERVING 233 KCALS | FAT 9.5G SATURATES 4.4G | CARBS 26.2G | SUGARS 2.3G FIBRE 2.9G | PROTEIN 9.3G | SALT 2.1G