Pitepalt is a Swedish dish made with grated potatoes, flour, and salt, filled with meat and boiled for 45 minutes to an hour. It is traditionally served with butter and cranberry jam and is a specialty of Pytheas. Similar dishes are found in Europe and Asia.
Pitepalt is a dish from Sweden and northern Europe, made with potatoes, barley or wheat flour. It is classified as a palt, which is defined as a regular meat-filled Swedish dumpling. Pitepalt in particular is a potato dumpling and its way of preparing it makes it similar to many other foods in Europe and Asia.
Pytheas, in Sweden, is the origin of pitepalt, which is why the dish is named after the city. The city serves as the capital of Pytheas Municipality in Norrbotten County, which is located in the northernmost part of the country. The dish is said to have several variations in this locality and is considered the culinary specialty of the place. Pitepalt, however, is also eaten in other places in Sweden.
Pitepalt is made from raw grated potatoes, which are mixed with flour and salt to create a little paste. A pot with water and salt is placed on the stove to boil, while the dough pieces are cut and rolled into the size of tennis balls. It is at this point that the cook can poke holes in the balls to put in his choice of meat, which is usually beef, pork or bacon. Once inserted into the hole, it must be completely closed to prevent the contents from escaping during cooking.
The balls are then placed in the boiling pot of water. The cooking time usually lasts from 45 minutes to an hour. Like other types of palt, pitepalt is traditionally served with butter and cranberry jam. The latter is a staple food in the Scandinavian countries which include Sweden, Norway and Denmark. It is made from the acidic fruit of the evergreen shrub Vaccinium vitis-idaea. Pitepalt is typically washed down with milk.
Pitepalt is often associated with kroppkakor, as they are both palti and use the same ingredients. Kroppkakor, however, is made with cooked potatoes, giving it a lighter color; the pitepalt is relatively darker. There is also a variant of pitepalt called blodpalt, which involves adding blood to the dumpling. This gives it an even darker color than usual.
Other similar food items in Europe include khinkali from Georgia, maultaschen from Germany and varenyky from Ukraine. In Asia, the wonton from China, the chuchvara from Uzbekistan, and the siopao from Thailand and the Philippines are examples. The connecting feature is the preparation of the dumpling with dough and some form of filling.
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