Kielki

This is one of those dishes that most Mennonites grow up with, it will vary depending on what region you're from but this is how we make ours. I made my own wide eggs noodles for this but you could also buy them, but I find making your own gives you a little more control and you could substitute whole wheat flour to make them healthier.

We normally eat this with cooked bacon, but I still had sausage in the freezer so I went with that. I like to cut the sausage into small but size pieces and than pan fry them in a cast iron pan until done. With bacon we just serve it on the side.

Pasta:
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp cream

Knead the dough until you have a nice smooth elastic dough and prepare according to your pasta machine instructions. Cook in boiling salted water for about 3-5 minutes.

Cream Gravy:
1 Tbsp oil, butter or drippings
1 small onion, chopped
Pan fry this until onion turns a nice brown colour.

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 tbsp Bisto traditional gravy powder (brown)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix together and stir into the fried onion. Bring to a boil, constantly stirring until thickened (the amount of Bisto specified is an estimate so you might have to adjust to get a thickened gravy). Spoon this over your cooked pasta. Serve with Mennonite sausage or cooked bacon.

Notes: Most people I know that serve this will serve the fried onions on the side, but I find doing it this way saves me a step and since you're topping your pasta with the fried onions anyway, why not just add it to the sauce and have less hassle. (And it's one less dish to clean!)

I started using the Bisto gravy powder to thicken my sauce and flavour it at the same time after a friend suggested it to me, this is always how I make my cream gravy now. The other method is to use Knorr gravy browner and cornstarch.

I also use half milk, half cream instead of the traditional 100% cream. I like to save calories where you can and just the thought of using so much cream makes my hips cringe, lol.

Have a great day!
Tina