The editors of the Ukrainian culinary website Shuba have published a recipe for Vitov-style pounders.
“Polcheniki in Vitovsky style is a family recipe from the Mykolaiv region, which has been preserved since the 14th century. It is part of the culinary heritage of the Vitov region and is made from sprat, buckwheat and stewed vegetables,” the website says. “If you are looking for a recipe for pounders, which is prepared in the villages of southern Ukraine, try this option.”
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of potatoes;
- 700 g sprat;
- 100 g buckwheat;
- three onions;
- three carrots;
- egg;
- slice of loaf;
- 2 tbsp. l. tomato paste;
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper;
- 100 ml milk;
- 5 tbsp. l. greenery;
- 120 ml vegetable oil.
Preparation
- Soak the bread in milk and squeeze. Peel and chop one onion. Pass the peeled sprat through a meat grinder along with bread and onions.
- Rinse the buckwheat and add water in a ratio of 1:2, bring to a boil, add salt and cook until half cooked. Add it to the minced fish.
- Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan. Fry the finely chopped onion and grated carrots until soft. Pass them through a meat grinder or grind them in a blender and add minced meat. Beat in the egg, salt and pepper, add crushed garlic and knead well.
- Make pounders from the minced meat. Fry over medium heat in hot oil until golden brown.
- Peel the potatoes and cut into rings 2–3 cm thick. Chop the rest of the onion and grate the carrots. Fry the vegetables in vegetable oil until soft, add a little salt and add sugar to taste.
- In a large saucepan, layer potatoes and masher. Pour everything with tomato juice or paste diluted with water (in a ratio of 1:3). Bring to a boil.
- Add the bay leaf and pepper, cover and simmer over low heat until the potatoes are tender (about 40-45 minutes). Add chopped herbs and garlic, simmer for another two to three minutes, remove from heat.
