Cook's Corner: Amish 'filling' is gussied-up mashed potatoes

By Linda Cicero/McClatchy Newspapers

 When I first read Karl Berghoffer's request for a dish called “potato filling” that his grandmother served with Sunday roasts, it conjured wonderful memories of times gone by when families gathered for time-together meals. That vision was reinforced by the many responses from readers who knew the dish.

“My late mother was from Lancaster County, Pa., and was Amish,” wrote Tommy Youngman of Miami. “She would make Filling, a wonderful form of spiffed up mashed potatoes, and serve with a standing rib roast, spinach salad with warm bacon dressing and English popovers (Yorkshire pudding) every Sunday night for the entire family. ... I still to this day serve this wonderful meal during the holidays.”

“My 83-year-old mother in Bethlehem, Pa., recently sent me this yellowed recipe from a newspaper,” wrote Jesse Walters of Miami Shores, Fla. “I've made it a few times and found it a very simple, old-school delight.”

Marcia Moselle of Plantation, Fla., says her mother, “who grew up in Pennsylvania Dutch country, made this every Christmas and Thanksgiving. My sister has taken over the tradition. When you see the amount of butter you'll probably be horrified, but Sis says it's necessary!”

Susan Biederman's recipe came from a collection of comfort-food recipes. “There is nothing low fat, low cal or nouveau,” Biederman, of Coral Springs, Fla., writes. But the potato filling “is so delicious it has become one of my holiday favorites.”

Dorothie Edinger of Medina, Ohio, whose ancestors were from Lancaster County, writes “we had this delicious dish many times.” B. J. Agovino recalled: “My mom used to make potato filling at Thanksgiving instead of mashed potatoes.”

Amish Potato Filling

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

6 cups mashed potatoes, at room temperature

2 to 3 cups stale bread cubes

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup chopped parsley

Salt and white pepper

1/4 teaspoon, or to taste, ground nutmeg

Additional butter for dotting top (optional)

Paprika

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the eggs with the milk and stir into the potatoes. Add the bread cubes and mix well. SautÃ(c) the onions and celery lightly in the butter, until clear but not brown. Add to potato mixture.

Add parsley, salt and pepper to taste and nutmeg. Mix well and spoon into greased casserole. Dot with butter and sprinkle with paprika. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, until top is golden. Makes 12 servings.

Per serving: 212 calories (44 percent from fat), 10 g fat (6 g saturated fat, 3 g monounsaturated fat), 78 mg cholesterol, 5 g protein, 24 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 450 mg sodium.

Send questions and responses to LindaCiceroCooksaol.com or Food, 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, FL 33132.