This is part of a series on Hungarian foods – three main courses, three desserts. This is the second main dish, following stuffed cabbage.
Rakott Krumpli is not the name of a man in a folktale, it is a food. And if I were to predict, I would say that while stuffed cabbage won’t make it to the next generation of my family, Rakott Krumpli most certainly will. When I think of Rakott Krumpli, I think of sitting around the kitchen table with my parents and my sister, a tall, steaming casserole of the dish at the center. And I think of sitting around the kitchen table with my wife and my son and daughter, a tall, steaming casserole of Rakott Krumpli at the center. It is a dish for chilly fall and winter nights, when eating rich dishes in warm kitchens with family is a happy impulse, and then a pleasant habit, and then indelible upon the memory.
For sure, there are lots of potatoes in Rakott Krumpli, and they are layered, along with sliced hard-boiled egg, sour cream, and Hungarian sausage. But don’t call Rakott Krumpli layered potatoes. Call it Rakott Krumpli (RAH-cut CROOM-plea). Certain things are just certain things.
Mixing Like The Many Cultures Of The Greater Hungary Of Long Ago
It is an earthy dish of simple ingredients. But the beauty of Rakott Krumpli lies not in its simplicity, it is in its three dimensionality. The transition from mere layer to layering. gives the dish its drama, its creativity. Put some butter at the bottom, then sliced boiled potatoes, then sliced hard-boiled egg, then generous dollops of sour cream, then spicy Hungarian sausage, then salt and paprika. Then again: potato, egg, sour cream, sausage. And again: potato, egg, sour cream, sausage.
I have seen recipes that suggest using a low-sided baking dish. No! Definitely not. For layering, you’ll need a deep casserole. It might take a little longer time in the oven to get the sizzly simmering music that says it’s ready, but layering is a must. One of the great delights of Rakott Krumpli is plunging down through all the layers with a big, wide serving spoon. Moussaka? Lasagna? They give nothing like the pleasure of digging into Rakott Krumpli. They are too thin, too docile. Rakott Krumpli puts up a palpable resistance as you press the serving spoon through each layer of potato. You can feel the personality of the food, not simply see or taste it.
Another great delight is its disorder. When you make it, and when you have a hunk of Rakott Krumpli in the serving spoon, it is a rational set of layers, but then when you put it on your plate, it tips and sprawls. It is meant to sprawl and mix, that this is part of its inner nature. One might say the tipping is like the Hungarian impulse toward creativity, and that the mixing is representative of the many cultures of the greater Hungary of years ago.
Your Heart Leaps
A third pleasure is its addictive quality. As you finish a serving, you might see that you are down to your last sausage. And so you plunge the spoon back into the casserole to carve off a slice, and opportunistically scoop up few pieces of sausage that may lay about in the dish. And then a few minutes later, oh my, you may notice that you have only a little potato left, and wouldn’t it be nice to have a little more to go with the extra sausage on your plate? In goes the serving spoon again. It is a dish that somehow keeps replenishing itself on your plate, and it takes an extra exertion of reason, or a very full belly, to rein in this happy conspiracy of mind and stomach.
A final pleasure may come a day or two later. You may find that no one else is home that evening, and that you have no idea what to make yourself for dinner. And as you poke through the fridge your heart leaps as you discover the last Rakott Krumpli leftovers. You are happy not simply because you don’t have to cook something from scratch, but because you know what awaits. Over the last couple of days the flavors have marinated further, making the dish even more flavorful. And you know when you re-heat it in that cast iron pot the potatoes, and maybe the egg slices such as they may have held together, will get a little browned and crispy, and now there is a new texture that makes it even more of a treat.
As P.T. Barnum Said
And then the climactic tragedy as you stand there scraping the last crispy remnants from the pot with a spatula, wiping them onto your finger and into your mouth. And then it is gone. But I think the final delight of this carnival of flavor is that, as P.T. Barnum is reputed to have said of the goal of other entertainments, it always leaves you wanting more.
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Recipe