This tasty bake is well loved in the Sephardic cuisine (check HERE for information about it), and is traditionally served for Saturday brunch. The bake is usually served with Tzatziki (recipe can be found HERE), hard boiled eggs and fresh vegetables or vegetable salad. Another tasty option is to serve it with a bit of date or maple syrup. The combination of sweet and salty is addictive.
The unique presentation, made by separating the potato-cheese mixture and creating the patties on top, also adds different textures and flavors to the bake.
“Fongos”, the name in Ladino, is supposed to describe this special presentation. I’ve found two explanations for its meaning: one points at the similarity to “fungus” and that the patties looks like mushroom caps; the other claims it came from the “nests” the patties are put in. I’m not sure which one is the accurate one, but I like them both, as much as I like this bake.
I’m sure you’ll like it too, once you’ll try it.
A few notes:
* The original recipe calls for spinach. You can try both and decide which one you prefer.
* Quark cheese is fresh low fat cheese, with smooth and creamy texture. I use the Israeli one (called “Gvina Levana”), which can be found in Kosher stores and is very creamy, but any other will do. If you can’t find it, substitute with sour cream.
* The potatoes are cooked in their skin, and drained quickly, so they will not absorb too much water and be too moist to form the patties. Don’t skip this step.
* If you plan to serve the bake with other dishes, you can make the patties smaller and cut the bake into 6-8 portions.
Makes: 4 (see notes)
Prep time: 40 minutes
Baking time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
4 medium potatoes, unpeeled
2 large Swiss chard bundles
1 tsp salt
2 XL eggs
1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
5 oz (140 grams) Feta cheese
¼ cup finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese
8.8 oz (250 grams) 9% fat Quark cheese (see notes), or sour cream
1. Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook for about 25 minutes, until they are soft. Drain and cool to room temperature. Peel, mash and measure 2 cups mashed potatoes.
2. Wash the Swiss chard thoroughly. Remove the white stems (use in THIS tasty salad) and cut roughly. Place in a shallow pot while still wet, add 1 tsp salt and mix. Cover the pot and steam over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes until soft. Cool to room temperature and measure 1 cup.
3. Preheat the oven to 360F (180C). Line a 9.5” (24cm) square pan with baking paper.
4. Place the mashed potatoes in a large bowl. Add 1 egg, salt, black pepper, feta cheese, parmesan cheese and ¾ of the Quark cheese. Mix well.
Remove ¼ of the mixture to another bowl. Add the Swiss chard to the bowl, along with the extra egg and leftover Quark cheese and mix well. Transfer to the pan, level the top with a spatula, and create four “nests” in the mixture with the back of a spoon. Create four patties from the leftover potato-cheese mix and place one in each “nest”.
5. Bake for 50 minutes, or until the bake is set and patties are golden. Let cool a bit before cutting.
I love that you and I both had similar baked mashed potato dishes. I’ll trade you! Ha! Looks delish!
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Thank you Dave! I guess it’s a potato-y week! 🙂
I’ll check out yours soon. It could be great to trade bakes! 🙂
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Such a beautiful combination of flavors, Ronit! And everyone gets a delicious little surprise package!
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Thank you Lana! Yes, it’s really a fun dish, on top of being so tasty. 🙂
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What a great combination! We eat a lot of chard, but usually just as a side dish with butter, or sometimes some balsamic, depending on what else is on the plate. These little squares look irresistible!
Thank you for the translation of “quark”. I routinely read a blog (Schnippelboy) written in German – https://42weimar42.wordpress.com/ – and he uses quark frequently. I have been too lazy to look up the meaning, but thought it might be some sort of squash or cucumber. His use of fresh ingredients is totally droolworthy!
I am preparing for a small outing today with chicken salad and Cole slaw as the main picnic ingredients. I have been on a bread baking kick in the last few days, so have three separate choices for today. I used spelt flour in the pizza crust last night, and it was delish! There was enough dough, which I had infused with onion powder, garlic powder, and a generous shake of oregano, leftover for two small loaves. They were very fragrant coming out of the oven, and snacked attacked me just before I went to bed!
Virtual hugs,
Judie
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Thank you Judie! This bake is one of my favorites and I’m glad you liked the idea.
It’s funny you thought Quark is some kind of squash! The cheese was indeed introduced in Israel by Jews who fled Europe in the 20’s and 30’s. The Israeli version is very creamy and fresh. It is the most popular cheese in Israel and is used in both sweet and savory dishes, and also as a sandwich spread.
Love the idea of adding spices to the dough and the spelt is by now almost mandatory for me in dough and even in cakes.
Enjoy your picnic! 🙂
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Is quark sort of like a cross between crème fraîche and mascarpone?
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It is creamy, but less than both, and has a more fresh cheese taste to it, rather than sour cream, if that makes any sense! 🙂
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Oh my goodness. This must have been gorgeous 😍😍😍😍
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It tends to vanish pretty quickly! 🙂
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I have no doubt about that!! 👏👏👏👏
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What a unique way to use mashed potatoes. I love this!
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Thank you Kathryn! I’m glad you liked the idea. This is an old family recipe that always works. 🙂
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My favorite bake!!! and it looks so good. just perfect.
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Mine too! 🙂 This brings back so many memories, doesn’t it? Wish we could sit and share it now…
And it’s perfect for Pesach as well. חג שמח!!!
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What fun! It’s so pretty!
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Thank you Mimi! It is indeed a fun dish, and the different crusts make it so tasty. 🙂
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This looks delicious – we have a lot of chard at the moment so will definitely be trying it
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Thank you Leanne!
This is an old family recipe and I hope you’ll enjoy it. I’ll be happy to hear your comments. 🙂
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This looks so beautiful!! I can imagine how delicious it must have been!
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Thank you Freda, it was indeed delicious!
It’s an old family recipe which I make often and I’m glad to share it. 🙂
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Oh wow! They look wonderful!!!
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Thank you Elaine! I’m glad you liked it. 🙂
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Looks so delicious. I will try with spinach for a picnic!
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Thank you, I’m glad you liked the dish. I hope you’ll enjoy the results. I’ll be happy to hear your comments. 🙂
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Will do!
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I love how this recipe is assembled and would definitely be appreciated in my family. Nice pictures too 🙂
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Thank you Judi! This is an old family recipe and when I make it I know there is a reason why it was kept for so long. 🙂
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It looks very tasty Ronit! 🙂 Really love your cuisine!
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Thank you Linda! This is one of my favorite dishes and it’s so nice to share this tradition. I’m glad you liked it. 🙂
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Ronit, What a nice combination of flavors and gorgeous presentation. It is like getting a yummy gift package for each person at the table.
Your explanation on quark is very educating to me.
Thanks for another awesome share!
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Thank you Sandhya! That is such a nice description to the dish – it is indeed an individual small package of goodness. 🙂
I’m glad you’ve found the information about Quark helpful. It’s a wonderful ingredient, well worth looking for. 🙂
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What a wonderful treat for each guest. Will definitely be bookmarking this and trying it out soon Ronit, thanks for sharing the recipe and educating us all on quark 🙂
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Thank you Loretta, I’m glad you liked this dish and the information about Quark cheese.
I hope you’ll make it and enjoy the results. I’ll be happy to hear your comment. 🙂
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This looks like the perfect food to serve when I have friends over for brunch. It is so pretty and sounds delicious–and is just unique enough to be sure to impress. 🙂
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Thank you Sheryl, I’m very glad you liked the recipe. It is perfect for brunch – very easy to prepare and serve. I hope you and your guests will enjoy it. 🙂
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Looks amazing.
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Thank you Jason! 🙂
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Very creative and flavorful dish this is, Ronit! 🙂
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Thank you Fae! It’s an old family recipe and one of my favorites. I’m glad you liked it. 🙂
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I absolutely love how the potato patty is nested in the swiss chard, Ronit. It creates a wonderful presentation! The dish, as a whole, sounds delicious. It’s definitely “taking cuts” on my must make list of dishes! Thanks for sharing your recipe.
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Thank you Nancy, I’m glad you liked this dish. It’s one of my all times favorites.
I hope you’ll make and enjoy this family treasure, which I’m happy to share. 🙂
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Looks great! I love chard, especially rainbow chard!
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Thank you Kendall I’m glad to know. 🙂
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Welcome!
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Looks amazing!
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Thank you Lynn, I’m glad you liked the dish. 🙂
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so special!
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These look sooooooo good!!!
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Thank you Swapna, I’m glad you liked the bake. It’s very tasty! 🙂
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Baked potatoes and cheese who would’nt love that 🙂
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Couldn’t agree more! 🙂
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I have never seen a meal like this but I want it in front of me right now! I adore greens and cheese so this is calling my name.
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I’m very glad to know! I hope you’ll try and enjoy this old family recipe. It’s one of my favorites. 🙂
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I’d like a cookbook of your recipes. I love them all but this one is just completely up my alley. A perfect combination of flavours. Wonderful!
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Thank you Lindy! I’m glad you liked this dish. It’s an old family recipe and one of my all-time favorites.
I did publish a cook book a few years ago, but I’m afraid you’ll have to learn Hebrew to use it! 🙂
I’m still working on my second one, in English, but life always gets in the way…
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This looks so, so delicious! I had to “pin” it and will definitely try it!
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Thank you Julie! I’m glad you liked this family treasure and hope you’ll enjoy it. I’ll be happy to hear your comments. 🙂
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Every time I visit your blog I find something fascinating! I make Tzatziki almost the same way you do, but I also add crushed walnuts. The bake is great, and I will definitely try it.
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Thank you Dolly, I’m glad you liked the bake. It’s one of my favorite dishes and I make it often.
Tzatziki with walnuts is wonderful. I sometimes add walnuts to yogurt-dill soup, for a creamier texture.
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And again, it’s amazing, but I do, too. I think great minds do think alike, but the great mind was my grandmother’s, not mine.
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Grandmothers’ cooking is definitely a wonderful start for anyone in the kitchen. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Crackling Pork Rinds.
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This does look good. It is hard to get swiss chard or frozen spinach where I live. Do you think I could use zucchini, or would it make it too mushy?
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It can work, but if you use zucchini, you’ll need to squeeze if., to get rid of liquids.
The following link is for a flourless zucchini bake, which can also work well.
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I will check it out. Once I made something with cheese and zucchini. It was so soft that no one ate it.
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Yes, that’s what happens if you don’t squeeze the liquids out.
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It is very hard to get the right texture. Everyone has so many dietary restrictions.
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You can only try your best… 🙂
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LOL
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