Hotdish
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Hotdish is a variety of baked casserole popular in the Midwestern United States, and especially in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and South Dakota. It consists of a starch, a meat or other protein, and a canned and/ or frozen vegetable, mixed together with canned soup.[1] According to food writer Hallie Harron, "You need a starch (rice, grains, noodles or potatoes), some sort of protein (beans, tofu, etc.), some liquid to moisten everything, and last, a crust or topping to make it crispy and golden brown."[1] The soup is often cream of mushroom, which serves as a binding ingredient.
Hotdishes are filling, convenient, easy to make, and well-suited for family reunions, funerals, church suppers, and potlucks, where they may be paired with pan-baked cookies known as bars.[1][2]
The history of the hotdish goes back to when “budget-minded farm wives needed to feed their own families, as well as congregations in the basements of the first Minnesota churches.”[1]
[edit] Ingredients
Typical ingredients in hotdish are potatoes, ground beef, green beans, and corn, with canned soup added as a binder, flavoring and sauce. Potatoes may be in the form of tater tots, hash browns, potato chips, or shoe string potatoes. The dish is usually seasoned lightly with salt and pepper, and it may be eaten with ketchup as a condiment. Another popular hotdish is made with Kraft macaroni and cheese or plain noodles, canned tuna, peas, and mushroom soup.[3]
Cream of mushroom soup is so ubiquitous in hotdish that it is often referred to in such recipes as “Lutheran Binder,” referring to hotdish’s position as a staple of Lutheran church cookbooks. The soup is considered a defining ingredient by some commentators.[4]
[edit] Popular Culture
Hotdish frequently appears, along with other stereotypical Minnesotan dishes such as lutefisk, in the radio program A Prairie Home Companion. Hotdish is also described in Howard Mohr’s book How to Talk Minnesotan.[4] Hotdish is an integral element of the book Hotdish to Die For, a collection of six culinary mystery short stories in which the weapon of choice is hotdish.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Harron, Hallie. (February 1996) "Heating up the heartland: Minnesota's signature hotdish combines heartiness, great taste and adaptability - includes recipes." Vegetarian Times.
- ^ Fertig, Judith M. (1999) Prairie Home Cooking. Boston: Havard Common Press p. 373.
- ^ Compare tuna casserole.
- ^ a b Mohr, H. (1987). How to Talk Minnesotan. New York: Penguin Books.
- ^ Dennis, Pat. (1999). Hotdish to Die For. Minneapolis: Penury.
