Riwanzler, also Riwanzla or Rewanzler

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 kg onions
• ¾ kg ribs, thick and thin
• ½ kg margarine
• 4 bay leaves
• 15 grains of allspice
• Water
• salt and pepper
• 2 ½ kg potatoes
• 125 g flour
• salt and pepper
• 1 piece(s) bacon, fat, for greasing the pan

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 45 minutes

Old recipe from Galicia (Ukraine) from my mother and grandmother for potato pancakes with onion sauce and meat.

For the sauce: First, brown the ribs in a large roasting pan with 1/3 of the margarine until nicely browned. Once browned, remove the ribs. Then add the diced onions and 1/3 of the margarine to the roasting pan and sauté. Once the onions have taken on a nice color, add the bay leaves, allspice, the pork ribs, and 1/3 of the margarine, and let everything simmer for a while. Then fill the roasting pan with enough water to almost cover the pork ribs. Let it simmer until the water has almost evaporated. Then refill the roasting pan with water as before and let the water evaporate again. Repeat this process until the sauce becomes clear. Stir frequently to prevent burning. This takes about 4-5 hours. For the Riwanzler: While the sauce is simmering, you can make the Riwanzler. Peel the potatoes and then grate them with a grater or food processor until you have a fine mash of raw potatoes. Season the mash with salt and pepper and thicken with flour. Care must be taken that the mash is not too thick, otherwise the Riwanzler will be too thick. But it should not be too runny either, otherwise the Riwanzler won’t set firmly enough. So try it out first. Now heat a pan (preferably a non-stick one, so the Riwanzler won’t stick to the pan). To grease the pan, use a piece of fatty bacon, cut it to size and skewer it with a fork. Once the pan is greased, use a tablespoon to scoop out a portion of the mash, add it to the pan, and immediately stir the mash in a circular motion to form a thin Riwanzler. The pan should be large enough to cook two Riwanzler at once. When the mixture on top sets, turn the Riwanzler over. The Riwanzler should already be brown on both sides. Stack the finished Riwanzler on a plate, which can then be placed in the oven to keep warm. This is how we eat Riwanzler: Place the plate with the stack of Riwanzler on the table. Spoon the meat from the ribs onto the plate, along with more or less of the rich onion sauce. Pierce one side of the Riwanzler with a fork and roll it up with the fork – similar to spaghetti, only horizontally. Dip the rolled-up Riwanzler into the sauce and eat it. Once a year we have a Riwanzler party, which is always attended by many family members. Cooking and sizzling is much more fun when there’s a real atmosphere in the kitchen.