Kartacze

Kartacze are made from a dough of grated raw potato mixed with cooked mashed potato, wrapped around a filling of minced pork with onion, formed into a large oval and boiled - they come out grey-translucent, heavy and about the size of a fist, and are served with fried bacon and onion poured over, and often sour cream. The name comes from kartacz, canister shot, which is a fair description of the weight. They belong to the Suwalki region and the Polish-Lithuanian borderland, where the same dumpling is known in Lithuania as cepelinai, zeppelins, from the shape. Two is a full meal for most people and the local advice is not to eat them before doing anything. They appear on menus across Podlasie and are a fixture at regional food events. Making them properly is laborious, which is why the good ones are found in small family restaurants rather than in cities.

What you actually see

• Fist-sized potato dumplings - raw and cooked potato around a pork filling.
• Named after cannon shot - kartacz, which describes the weight fairly.
• Bacon and onion poured over - the standard finish, often with sour cream.
• A borderland dish - the Lithuanian cepelinai are the same thing.

When to go

All year. An hour.

Honest expectations

They are extremely heavy - two is a meal and one is enough for many. Poorly made ones are gluey. Small family restaurants in the region do them far better than city kitchens.

Nearby

Suwalki, Augustow and the Wigry lakes are the heart of the region.