Žemaičių blynai have cooked-potato dough around a separate filling. AI-generated illustration created for LithuaniaLinks.
What Žemaičių blynai are
The shell is made from boiled, mashed potatoes and encloses a cooked filling. Frying gives it a golden surface while the potato inside stays soft.
The Samogitian connection
The name refers to Žemaitija, or Samogitia. Lithuania Travel mentions these pancakes in its coverage of Telšiai, but their name does not mean they can only be found in that region.
How they differ from bulviniai blynai
Bulviniai blynai start with raw grated potato. Žemaičių blynai use cooked potato dough around a filling. A cut pancake shows the difference.
Choosing a filling
Chicken with mushrooms is another filling. Check the filling when ordering rather than relying on the potato-pancake name alone.
Home recipe
Žemaičių blynai with cooked pork
4 to 6 filled pancakes
Approx. 380 kcal per serving · 1/4 of the batch
Recipe adapted from: Ieva · Taste of Lithuania.
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- Preparation
- 45 minutes
- Cooking
- 15 minutes
Boiling and cooling the potatoes add time; the filling uses already cooked pork.
Ingredients
Add only what you need, or add the whole recipe at once.
Potato dough
- 700 g floury potatoes, weighed raw
- 1 small egg
- 1 1/2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp potato starch
- 1/2 tsp salt
Filling and frying
- 120 g cooked pork, finely chopped or minced
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- Neutral oil and butter, for the onion
- 2 tbsp neutral oil and 1 tbsp butter, for frying
To serve
- 2 to 3 tbsp sour cream
- Fresh dill
Method
- Boil the potatoes until tender, drain and cool. Peel if necessary, then mash without milk.
- Gently fry the onion until soft. Mix it with the cooked pork and seasonings.
- Combine potato, egg, flour, starch and salt, mixing only until the dough holds together.
- Make 4 to 6 flattened portions, enclose the filling and seal into thick oval pancakes.
- Fry in oil and butter over medium heat for about 6 to 7 minutes per side, until browned and hot through. Add sour cream and dill to serve.
Ingredient information: Egg; Wheat; Milk in butter and sour cream. Check the labels of bought ingredients.
Energy estimate
Approx. 380 kcal per serving
Reference servings per batch: 4. 1/4 of the batch: 1–1.5 pancakes, including sour cream.
Calculation details
Uses cooked pork, not raw meat. Counts all 28 g frying oil and 14.2 g butter, plus 5 g oil and 5 g butter for the onion. Includes 30 g sour cream for the whole batch.
Calculated from ingredient quantities and the stated reference serving, rounded to the nearest 10 kcal. Brands, portion size and retained frying fat affect the result.
