About the dish
The important distinction is between the potato casing and the filling. Shape an even casing and close the seam fully so filling is not exposed in the water. Keep the dumplings separate while shaping them. Follow the recipe’s cooking method rather than judging readiness only from their size or their resemblance to a restaurant portion.
Preparation
Our recipe uses meat. For another version, check both the filling and topping: curd-filled dumplings may still come with bacon sauce. Keep the water at a gentle simmer so the potato casing holds together.
Where to taste or learn more
Senoji Kibininė in Trakai serves cepelinai. Ask how many dumplings make a serving and whether bacon sauce can be served separately if your group has different dietary needs.
Saved privately in this browser. No account needed.
Ingredients (serves 4)
Add only what you need, or add the whole recipe at once.
- Dough: 1.5 kg waxy raw potatoes, peeled
- Dough: 250 g cooked potato (boiled the day before, mashed)
- Dough: 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar
- Dough: 1 teaspoon salt
- Dough: 1 tablespoon potato starch (optional, helps binding)
- Filling: 400 g minced pork (shoulder, not lean)
- Filling: 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- Filling: 1 teaspoon salt
- Filling: 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Filling: 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
- Sauce: 200 g smoked pork belly or thick-cut bacon, diced small
- Sauce: 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- Sauce: 300 ml sour cream (full-fat)
- Sauce: 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives or green onion
- Filling: 1 tablespoon oil, to soften the onion
Method
- Peel and grate the raw potatoes into the finest grater holes you have, working in batches so the grated potato does not sit too long. Add the lemon juice as you go to prevent oxidation.
- Place the grated potato in a clean tea towel or muslin and squeeze hard over a bowl. Reserve the squeezed liquid in a separate bowl and let the starch settle to the bottom for ten minutes.
- Pour off the cloudy liquid from the reserved bowl, leaving the white starch at the bottom. Mix this starch back into the squeezed grated potato along with the mashed cooked potato, salt, and the optional tablespoon of potato starch. Mix thoroughly. The dough should hold its shape when pressed.
- For the filling, gently soften the chopped onion in a tablespoon of oil until translucent, about 4 minutes. Cool completely. Mix with the raw mince, salt, pepper, and marjoram. Do not cook the meat - it cooks inside the dumpling.
- Divide the dough and filling into eight equal portions. With wet hands, flatten a portion of dough, add one portion of filling and seal completely. Shape into an elongated dumpling and repeat.
- Bring a large wide pot of well-salted water to a gentle simmer. Lower the dumplings in one by one. Cook at a gentle simmer (no rolling boil) for 30 to 35 minutes once they rise to the surface.
- Meanwhile, fry the diced pork belly slowly in a dry pan until the fat renders and the pieces are crisp. Add the chopped onion in the last 2 minutes and soften lightly. Remove from heat.
- Check the centre of the pork filling with a clean food thermometer: reach 70°C for 2 minutes, or 75°C for 30 seconds. Continue simmering if needed; the stated cooking time alone does not confirm that the filling is cooked through. Just before serving, stir the sour cream into the warm bacon-and-onion mixture (off heat, so the cream does not split). Plate the dumplings, pour the sauce generously over, and finish with chives.
Estimated energy is calculated from the listed quantities. Actual values vary with brands, optional ingredients and serving size. For dishes fried in fat, the amount absorbed also changes the estimate.