If you need to cook something in a hurry and, besides, many portions at once, then there is nothing better, more satisfying and faster than a potato casserole with meat!
A casserole is generally a win-win dish, as you can use anything you like to cook, especially when you find out about the sudden upcoming visit of guests who will be on the doorstep in an hour and a half.
So, if you have ready-made minced meat, a kilogram and a half of potatoes, a little cheese in your refrigerator, you can’t panic - a potato casserole with meat will surely help you out! And if you knew about the visit in advance, then the same casserole with potatoes and meat can still become the number one dish on the table, only meat can be cooked a little differently - in pieces (because you will have a little more time to prepare) .
I suggest a recipe for potato casseroles with meat:
Option 1 (with minced meat).
For cooking, you need minced meat, onions, potatoes, small carrots, cheese, egg, salt, a little sour cream, pepper and a pinch of salt. (The amount of a product you can easily calculate yourself, depending on the number of servings or the size of the form that you intend to fill out). My advice is to take a bigger shape, as this dish is later easily heated in the microwave, and many people enjoy eating cold.
How to cook?
While potatoes are boiled in salted water, you peel onions and carrots, chop finely and let them lightly in vegetable oil in a frying pan, put raw minced meat there, overcook, add a little crushed dill, pepper it and salt to taste. If minced meat gives little juice, then add a bit of boiled water or a potato broth (you have almost ready potatoes at this point).
When the potatoes are cooked as for mashed potatoes, drain the water and, kneading the potatoes well, add a raw egg and a pinch of soda to it. For splendor, you can beat it all slightly with a mixer (it should turn out magnificent, but not liquid, look at the consistency, if it turns out to be liquid, add a little flour in the puree and mix again). You can also put finely chopped dill in the potato "dough", this casserole will not only make it more fragrant, but the layer of potatoes will look very impressive.
Next, take a baking dish (preferably glass), grease with oil (you can sprinkle the bottom and sides with breadcrumbs) and lay the potatoes and meat filling in layers - first the potato layer, lay the minced meat on it, again the potato layer on top. Flatten well and apply a thin layer of thick sour cream mixed with egg yolk on top or sprinkle with grated cheese and put in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes over medium heat.
Potato casserole with meat. Option 2
The potatoes are prepared in the same way as for the casseroles with minced meat, but the meat for the filling must be boiled in advance, cut into small pieces or cranked through a large grill in a meat grinder, fry with onion in butter (in this case, I prefer not to chop the onions , and cut into half rings or quarters of thin onion rings), add spices (salt, pepper, you can add others that you yourself like to add to meat dishes) and some meat broth so that the stuffing is not dry. We overcook everything and just as accurately form our “layer cake” of potatoes and meat filling.
By the way, if such a potato casserole with meat is cooked in the summer, when the eggplants appear, then you can pre-fry the small cubes of eggplant before half-ready (one small one will be quite enough), add them to the meat filling. It will turn out a little longer in time, but the taste will be unusual. The main thing is not to be afraid to experiment! And when you take this blushing beauty out of the oven, you can decorate fresh greens on top - this dish looks very appetizing, and most importantly, delicious!
Serve sour cream for a hot casserole or make your favorite sauce. (For example, I like just washing it with tomato juice).
You can cook a casserole with potatoes and meat (like other types of casseroles) in a miracle oven - it turns out very well!
Cook with pleasure! Enjoy your meal!