Potato casserole with minced meat … This dish comes from childhood. To cook it yourself and pamper your family, it is enough to use a very simple recipe, carefully observing all the proportions and cooking sequence.
From childhood, many remember how grandmothers and mothers pampered potato casserole with minced meat. This is not surprising - meat and potatoes are considered traditional products of Russian cuisine. Potato casserole with minced meat is far from a dietary dish, but at the same time, your loved one will appreciate the hearty combination of potatoes and meat. For those who do not know how to please their loved ones with such yummy, we recommend using this simple recipe.
So, to make a casserole for 6-8 servings, you will need 500-800 g of potatoes, 600 g of ground beef and pork, a couple of onions, 2 eggs, 250 g of milk (or cream), 200 g of cheese, 150 g of sour cream (or mayonnaise), vegetable oil for frying, as well as salt, black pepper and bay leaves to taste.
1. The first step is to rinse the potatoes and carefully peel them. Cut each potato in half, place in a pot of salted water and heat. When the water in the pot boils, toss in a couple of bay leaves.
2. Peel the onion and then cut it into small pieces. Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan and heat well enough, and then fry the onion until transparent.
3. Add minced meat to the onion, season with salt and pepper. Fry, stirring constantly, until tender.
Take pork and beef for mince in equal proportions - this will make the dish tasty and juicy. It is very important to observe the percentage of the components, because an excess of pork will result in fatty minced meat, and from a lack of it - dry.
4. After the potatoes are cooked, drain the water. Then add some warmed milk or cream to it and crush the potatoes until puree.
5. Now you have all the components ready. Start shaping the potato casserole. Use a sufficiently deep baking sheet or a glass heat-resistant dish. Lubricate the inner surface of the mold and sides with vegetable oil or cooking oil. Place exactly half of the puree on it and distribute it evenly over the entire surface.
6. Then put the minced meat with fried onions, evenly distributing it over the potatoes.
Do not add vegetable oil remaining in the pan to the minced meat. Too much liquid will cause the casserole to fall apart. To prevent this from happening, it is better to grease each layer of the dish with an egg beaten with a whisk.
7. Carefully place the remaining mashed potatoes on top of the minced meat. Lubricate it with mayonnaise or sour cream on top, and then gently smooth.
8. Grate the cheese on a fine grater and sprinkle with half on the future casserole.
9. Preheat the oven to 180-200 ° C, place the casserole there for 10 minutes, then, after taking it out, sprinkle it with a second layer of cheese. This is necessary in order to obtain a golden brown dish. For those who love a golden brown casserole, it is best to sprinkle it with cheese at the very beginning.
10. Serve the dish slightly cooled if you are not sure about the firmness of the casserole. Use herbs for garnish and vegetables (tomatoes and cucumbers) as a side dish.
