Patatnik + 2016 Edoardo Miroglio Bio Mavrud & Rubin #EattheWorld

Welcome to our May #EattheWorld project, being spearheaded by Evelyne of CulturEatz. Here's her challenge. This month she said, "Let's dig a bit deeper into Eastern Europe with a culinary visit to Bulgaria!"

It's hard to believe that we, at least in California, are going on nearly two months of shelter-in-place orders. It's been challenging to get the groceries I want, but we are making it work. But I always have potatoes and eggs these days.

Before we get to my recipe, here are the others' Bulgarian recipes...

• Pandemonium Noshery: Bulgarian Sausage Stew 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Mekitsa - Bulgarian Fried Doughnuts 
• Sara’s Tasty Buds: Gevrek 
• Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Patatnik + 2016 Edoardo Miroglio Bio Mavrud & Rubin 
• Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Koledna Pitka (Bulgarian Christmas Bread) 
• Making Miracles: Gyuveche 
• Kitchen Frau: Patatnik (Bulgarian Potato Pie) 
• Dinner By Dennis: Kebapche (Bulgarian Grilled Kebabs)
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Shopska Salata

Patatnik 

When I was looking for a Bulgarian dish that used what I already had on hand, I came across mentions of Patatnik (пататник) , a traditional Bulgarian potato-based dish prepared with grated potatoes and onions, as well as spearmint. It is originally cooked over fire or a stove, but I decided that baking it in the oven was fine. Also, some variations add sirene (Bulgarian feta) or even sliced peppers. I went mostly plain. I used eggs from friends who have hens and traded me for a loaf of homemade sourdough. Look at those yolks! So pretty.

And traditionally, it's made with dried mint, but D had fresh mint in his garden, so I went with that. The flavor is much stronger and fresh.

Ingredients serves 6

• 1-1/2 pounds potatoes, scrubbed, dried, and grated
• 1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 T fresh mint
• 2 eggs
• 2 T butter, divided
• 2 T flour, divided
• freshly ground salt
• freshly ground pepper
• Also needed: 8" round baking dish, parchment paper

Procedure

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place parchment paper in the bottom of the pan and butter the sides with 1 T butter.

Place the potatoes, onions, eggs, mint, and 1 T flour into a mixing bowl. Sprinkle in salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Turn the mixture into the prepared dish and press down gently with a spatula until the top is flat. Sprinkle with remaining T flour. Melt the remaining T butter and drizzle over the potatoes.

Place the pan in the oven and bake for 45 minutes until firm to the touch and nicely golden brown. Let cool a few minutes before removing from baking dish. Serve warm.

+ A Surprise Wine Pairing

On the day that I served this I was on a three hour Zoom meeting for a board to which I belong. I don't use Zoom often, so it was almost comical. I showed my ignorance and interrupted the meeting so someone could explain to me how to get to the chat room to vote in writing. Then I was talking while muted. Oye.

After the meeting, I went to pull a bottle of wine off the shelf and grabbed this one: 2016 Edoardo Miroglio Bio Mavrud & Rubin. Imagine my complete surprise when I saw that it was from Bulgaria. What on Earth? I didn't remember buying that bottle...much less planning to pour it with the Patatnik. Well, at least one thing went right that evening.

Doing some reading after the fact, it turns out this wine is made from organically-grown and certified mavrud and rubin grapes both of which are indigenous grapes. On the nose it was initially very fruity with notes of cherries and plums. But on the palate, the wine exhibits nice hints of wood. What a fun surprise! Now if I can only remember how that bottle ended up on my shelf. I would be happy to buy it again. Cheers.