Qistibi – tatar potato flatbreads
Makes 8
Medium
40 minutes, plus 30 minutes’ resting time
30 minutes
These flatbreads are traditionally filled with rice or millet porridge, but mashed potatoes are sometimes used instead. This recipe was kindly given to me by Firuza Yusupova, a pastry chef of a Tatar-Jewish origin, whose family story spans the area between Bashkortostan and Samarkand, and is written through recipes and food memories passed down from one generation to the next.
Ingredients
Method
-
For the dough:
- 1 cup water
- 50 g butter, melted, plus extra for brushing
- 2 T sour cream
- 500 g cake flour
- ½ t salt
- 1 t caster sugar For the filling:
- 5–6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
- vegetable oil, for frying
- 2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
- 50 g salted butter
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Method
Ingredients
1. To make the dough, mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Work the dough until it comes together easily into a ball. Cover with clingfilm and let it rest for 30 minutes.
2. To make the filling, cook the potatoes in salted water for 10–15 minutes until soft.
3. Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the onions with a pinch of salt over a medium heat for 15 minutes, until soft and caramelised in places.
4. When the potatoes are cooked, mash them roughly with the butter, add the onions and season with salt and pepper. (I like my filling quite peppery as this gives the potatoes a satisfying depth and warmth but let your taste buds guide you.)
5. Return to the dough, tip it out onto a dusted surface, knead it for a few minutes, divide it into balls (40 g each), then roll each into a thin disc about 20 cm in diameter. Keep the rolled dough discs under a clean tea towel while you finish the rest.
6. Heat a non-stick frying pan and toast each flatbread on both sides until golden brown. Stack the cooked flatbreads under a clean tea towel.
7. When all the flatbreads are ready, stuff them with 2–3 heaped tablespoons of the potato mash and fold in half. Generously brush with the melted butter and serve immediately.
Cook’s note: You can easily reheat these by toasting the flatbread in a dry pan on each side for a few moments and drizzling some hot melted butter over the top to finish.
Photographer: Laura Edwards
Extracted with permission from Kapusta by Alissa Timoshkina
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