Hungarian Potato and Egg Casserole
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 1½pounds (about 5 medium) russet, Idaho, or other baking potatoes, unpeeled and scrubbed
- Salt
- 2tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1pound (about 2 large) onions, thinly sliced
- 6large eggs
- 1tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Sweet Hungarian paprika
- 2cups sour cream
Preparation
- Step 1
Place the potatoes in a large pot, and add enough cold, lightly salted water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until potatoes are just tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool enough to handle. Peel potatoes and cut into ½-inch rounds.
- Step 2
Place a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add vegetable oil, and heat until shimmering. Add onions, and sauté until soft and almost caramelized, about 25 minutes; lower heat if they begin to brown too quickly.
- Step 3
Place the eggs in a large pot, and add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool enough to handle. Peel the eggs, and cut into ⅓-inch rounds.
- Step 4
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously coat the inside of a 1 to 1½ quart baking dish with the butter. Arrange a layer of half the potatoes in the dish, then a layer of half the onions, and then a layer of half the eggs. Season with salt and pepper and a light sprinkling of paprika. Spread with half the sour cream. Repeat with the remaining potatoes, onions and eggs, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread with remaining sour cream, and sprinkle with paprika.
- Step 5
Cover the baking dish, and place in the center rack of the oven. Bake for 45 minutes. If desired, serve with a green salad.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Kinga
You know what makes this dish even better? Layer Hungarian kolbász (or kielbasa) in with the potatoes and eggs. Also, I've never seen onions in this dish.
Kay
As the others have noted, you've got to add the kolbasz, which is essential to this dish. If you can't find Hungarian kolbasz we often use Spanish chorizo picante, which is a bit harder/drier but gives the right flavor. I also had never seen this dish with onions before, but I decided to give it a try and we loved it - from now on I will add the onions in the way described here. The Hungarians in our household thought it tasted totally authentic and devoured it.
Andrea B
My Hungarian grandma used to make this all the time--with onions, although they were not caramelized or cooked ahead, just sliced in rings. In Hungary, she made it with kolbász, but in the US, she used hot dogs once when she didn't have the Hungarian sausage--and people liked it even better.
From then on, she used hot dogs in this and her friends started doing the same. I don't know what the difference is in flavor, but the Hungarians I knew loved it with onions and hotdogs.
Katie James
In addition - Next time I will cut down on the potatoes, add more onions and at least 3 more eggs and see if I get the right amount. Also, I think I might add some spinach and red peppers because it was a bit dull looking and perhaps I did not have good paprika, although it was a fresh bottle, I didn't notice a distinct taste. I might try smoked paprika.
Raouf Zaidan
When I was a lad I had a Hungarian friend who once prepared this meal for me and it was delicious . I think she used Yogurt and bacon . I am trying it again today and wondering what happened to Zsuzsanna Almassy ? my long lost friend.
Ralph Joerger
This was a bit bland and the cooking time too short. I had leftovers and put them back in the oven next day for another 20 minutes without cover and added some chillies and spicy paprika. Made all the difference and it tasted a lot better!
Katie James
I made this last night as directed, didn't change anything and this is what I found: 5 medium potatoes would be enough for 1.5 dishes. So what is a medium potato? 2 large onions for two layers, I'd say were more like 1.5 layers, 6 large eggs only made one layer. Would 12 eggs make two layers? I did not cut the eggs with an egg slicer, which I think would have made the eggs slices thinner. I sure could not slice these 1/3 inch.
Mary
Before I made this I read people’s input, generally I follow recipes fairly closely, but the suggestion to add kielbasa sounded good. It was a big hit at our house, thanks!
Mark
As a Hungarian, I strongly agree. :) Use sausages instead of onions.
becstalls
I added 1 lb of kielbasa as suggested by commenters. Used Polska kielbasa though because I had it on hand. Also dotted the top with butter b/c I forgot to butter the baking dish. It turned out delicious!
Helen
This recipe caught my eye when it turned up in Sam Sifton's daily cooking email and then within a day or two, I received a Postcrossing postcard telling me about the Hungarian comfort food Rakott krumpli - the same dish with Hungarian sausage and no onions. I made it with sausage for dinner this evening and we enjoyed it. The recipe halved nicely for the two of us, with the right amount of leftovers. It's a recipe I'll make again.
Mary
Before I made this I read people’s input, generally I follow recipes fairly closely, but the suggestion to add kielbasa sounded good. It was a big hit at our house, thanks!
Ralph Joerger
This was a bit bland and the cooking time too short. I had leftovers and put them back in the oven next day for another 20 minutes without cover and added some chillies and spicy paprika. Made all the difference and it tasted a lot better!
Katie James
In addition - Next time I will cut down on the potatoes, add more onions and at least 3 more eggs and see if I get the right amount. Also, I think I might add some spinach and red peppers because it was a bit dull looking and perhaps I did not have good paprika, although it was a fresh bottle, I didn't notice a distinct taste. I might try smoked paprika.
Katie James
I made this last night as directed, didn't change anything and this is what I found: 5 medium potatoes would be enough for 1.5 dishes. So what is a medium potato? 2 large onions for two layers, I'd say were more like 1.5 layers, 6 large eggs only made one layer. Would 12 eggs make two layers? I did not cut the eggs with an egg slicer, which I think would have made the eggs slices thinner. I sure could not slice these 1/3 inch.
Sonya
My recipe uses ground ham- delicious!
dobes
What does it mean to cut the eggs into "rounds'?
Richard
Slice the hard-boiled eggs across the width.
Raouf Zaidan
When I was a lad I had a Hungarian friend who once prepared this meal for me and it was delicious . I think she used Yogurt and bacon . I am trying it again today and wondering what happened to Zsuzsanna Almassy ? my long lost friend.
becstalls
I added 1 lb of kielbasa as suggested by commenters. Used Polska kielbasa though because I had it on hand. Also dotted the top with butter b/c I forgot to butter the baking dish. It turned out delicious!
Tami
Even though I followed the recipe to the letter, I'm not sure this dish came out the way it's supposed to. Is it supposed to be creamy or dry? The ingredients stayed stubbornly separate despite getting baked together. Bland to boot. A real disappointment.
Dwight C.
This was my experience as well. I had to use a table knife ot eat the potatoes. I didn't expect this since they were cooked before I put them in the oven. I expected them to be much softer after another 45 minutes in the oven.
Andrea B
My Hungarian grandma used to make this all the time--with onions, although they were not caramelized or cooked ahead, just sliced in rings. In Hungary, she made it with kolbász, but in the US, she used hot dogs once when she didn't have the Hungarian sausage--and people liked it even better.
From then on, she used hot dogs in this and her friends started doing the same. I don't know what the difference is in flavor, but the Hungarians I knew loved it with onions and hotdogs.
Kay
As the others have noted, you've got to add the kolbasz, which is essential to this dish. If you can't find Hungarian kolbasz we often use Spanish chorizo picante, which is a bit harder/drier but gives the right flavor. I also had never seen this dish with onions before, but I decided to give it a try and we loved it - from now on I will add the onions in the way described here. The Hungarians in our household thought it tasted totally authentic and devoured it.
Helen
This recipe caught my eye when it turned up in Sam Sifton's daily cooking email and then within a day or two, I received a Postcrossing postcard telling me about the Hungarian comfort food Rakott krumpli - the same dish with Hungarian sausage and no onions. I made it with sausage for dinner this evening and we enjoyed it. The recipe halved nicely for the two of us, with the right amount of leftovers. It's a recipe I'll make again.
Kinga
You know what makes this dish even better? Layer Hungarian kolbász (or kielbasa) in with the potatoes and eggs. Also, I've never seen onions in this dish.
Brigitte
This recipe requires a sauce to hang together, otherwise the potatoes are too dry. A tomato sauce might be good.
Mark
As a Hungarian, I strongly agree. :) Use sausages instead of onions.
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