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Hungarian casserole

If you have leftover eggs and crème fraiche on hand (which if you’ve been faithfully following the blog, is by now a staple in your fridge) the recipe can be whipped together quickly when last-minute lunch guests hint that they are expecting a potato delicacy (pretty much everyone who comes over these days is expecting a potato delicacy).
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Ingredients

  • Potatoes about 2 lbs (1 kg), peeled, cooked and sliced ¼ inch (½ cm) thick
  • Hard-boiled eggs 4, sliced (really you can use as many as you have)
  • Crème fraiche or sour cream, about 2 cups (approx. 460 g)
  • Garlic 1 clove, crushed
  • Salt + pepper
  • Butter 3 Tbsp (50 g)
  • Breadcrumbs ½ cup
  • Paprika sweet, Hungarian (of course!), 1 tsp

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C).
  • If you haven’t already got peeled, cooked and sliced potatoes lying around, get to it! Boiling whole potatoes, peeled or not, takes a long time. Handling them while they’re still hot is less than pleasant (see Gnocchi). I recommend peeling, slicing and then boiling. If you’re disciplined enough about slicing thinly, they might even be ready by the time you’ve gotten the rest of the ingredients together.
  • In a small bowl combine the crème fraiche and the garlic clove. Season with salt and pepper and a splash of Tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper if no one objects.
  • Grease a baking dish with 1 Tbsp (15 g) of butter.
  • Start with a layer of about 1/3 of the potato slices. Then 1/3 of the egg slices topped with 1/3 of the crème fraiche mix. Repeat twice. If you’ve done your math correctly you should not have any potatoes, eggs or crème fraiche leftover. If you do or if you ran out before the last layer, return to step 2 and start over.
  • Sprinkle on breadcrumbs. Add small pieces of butter on top with a dash or two of paprika.
  • Bake for 30 minutes.

Notes

The original recipe suggests letting it stand for 10 minutes before serving. If you can keep your hungry guests distracted with some interesting hors d’oeuvres it’s probably worth waiting. I couldn’t and everyone still took a second helping.