Czechoslovakian Potato Dumplings Recipes

CZECH POTATO DUMPLINGS - BRAMBOROVé KNEDLíKY

Steps:

• MAKE AHEAD: Boil the potatoes with the skin on the day before and let them cool completely overnight. Before preparing the potato dough, put a pot of lightly salted water on the stove to boil.
• Peel the cooled potatoes and grate finely on a hand grater. Add the flour, potato starch, egg, and salt.
• Process the ingredients into potato dough. Keep some flour aside so you can dip your hands in it if the dough gets too sticky.
• Divide the dough into equal parts. Roll out each on a floured work surface into a 2-3 inches (5-7 cm) thick cylinder. The length of the cylinder is determined by the diameter of the pot in which you will cook the dumplings. It is usually in the range of 8-10 inches (20-25 cm).
• Put the prepared dumplings immediately into slightly boiling water. Check after a while. If they have stuck to the bottom, use a fork to loosen them to swim carefully.
• Cook the dumplings for 20-25 minutes.
• After cooking, carefully remove the dumplings from the pot. If you do not serve the dumplings immediately, brush them with a little melted lard to prevent the surface from drying out.

CZECHOSLOVAKIAN POTATO DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• You can used leftover boiled potatoes or boil extras the day before, rice (or mash), cool and refrigerate overnight. Peel and cut the potatoes into large chunks. Cover (barely) with cold water, bring to a boil for about 10 minutes until tender enough to force through a potato ricer and let cool. Mix in the egg yolk, flour the countertop and work the flour into the dough, try not to over-mix, but the mixture should come together and shape into a long log. Cut into slices, about 1/2 to 3/4 of and inch (1 to 2cm). Bring a shallow pan filled with salted water to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Gently add the dumplings, in batches, and simmer gently for about 5 minutes. Do not overcrowd. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain. The dumplings are ready to eat, but traditionally they are then fried in a skillet with melted butter until lightly browned on all sides. They can be served with a honey sweetened sauerkraut and also go well with sour cream.

CZECH POTATO DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, thoroughly combine mashed potatoes, eggs and salt. Add enough flour to form a stiff dough. It will be a little sticky.
• Place a large saucepan of water on to boil. Meanwhile, with floured hands, shape the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Cook 10 dumplings at a time by dropping into the boiling water. Return the water to a boil and boil gently for about 12 minutes or until dumplings rise to the surface and test done when pulled apart with two forks. Drain in a colander or on a clean kitchen towel.
• Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, combine butter with breadcrumbs and cook until golden brown and crisp. Roll dumplings in this mixture and serve immediately.​​ Note: Instead of coating the dumplings in buttered breadcrumbs, they can be placed in a roasting pan and glazed with meat drippings from a pork, beef, lamb or veal roast, or roasted chicken .

TRADITIONAL KNEDLICKY (CZECH POTATO DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• Fill a large soup pot (not sauce pan, too small) about half full of water and bring to a boil.
• Using just your hands, knead together equal amounts mashed potatoes and flour in a bowl until it forms a dough.
• Form dough into baseball/tennis ball sized balls.
• Carefully, so as not to splash, drop dumplings one at a time into boiling water. Do not over crowd pot. You only want a single layer of dumplings.
• The dumplings will sink to the bottom.
• Bring water back to a boil and then simmer.
• When the dumplings begin to float they're done. Don't take them out of the water right away, let them float for about 5 minutes before removing them.
• Remove finished dumplings from water with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl or on a serving plate.
• Serve alongside any kind of roast and top with gravy or butter and salt and pepper. Yum!
• Leftovers can be cut up into bite-sized pieces.

CZECH POTATO DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Peel and boil potatoes until done.
• Drain potatoes and mash.
• Do not add butter or milk.
• Cool potatoes in refrigerator until cold.
• Mix in order given.
• Mix well, and knead on a floured board until smooth.
• Divide dough in half and make each half of dough into a roll about 3 inches in diameter and about 12 inches long.
• Cut into dumplings about 2 inches long with a sharp knife that has been dipped in flour.
• While you are cutting the dumplings, bring a large stockpot about 2/3 full of water with 1 teaspoon of salt added to water to a boil.
• Once the water is boiling, add half of the dumplings to the water and stir so they don't stick to the bottom.
• Boil for 15 minutes.
• Remove from water with slotted spoon to drain.
• Place dumplings in roaster sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
• Cover and keep warm in oven set to low.
• Boil the rest of the dumplings, remove from water and add to roaster.
• Serve.
• These are wonderful eaten with butter or sauerkraut or gravy.
• I use all of my leftover mashed potatoes for this recipe.
• To freeze:.
• Place leftover dumplings on waxed paper lined baking sheets and freeze until solid.
• Remove from baking sheet and place in ziplock freezer bags to store in freezer.
• Will keep for 6 months in freezer.

KNEDLIKY - CZECH DUMPLING WITH SAUERKRAUT (ZELI)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center, and pour in the eggs and 1 cup of milk. Stir to blend, and add enough additional milk to make a moist battery dough, not like pancake batter. Use a sturdy wooden spoon to beat the dough at least 200 strokes, rolling it over and over in the bowl until smooth and an occasional bubble appears on the surface. Add the dry white bread cubes, and stir into the dough until they disappear.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the dough onto a cheesecloth or white cotton cloth, and form into a loaf shape. Wrap the cloth around the loaf, and tie the ends.
• Place the loaf into the boiling water, and cook for 45 minutes, turning the loaf over about half way through. Remove from the water, unwrap, and cover with a tea towel. Let stand for 10 minutes.
• Fry bacon in a small skillet over medium-high heat until evenly browned. Set aside. Place the drained sauerkraut into a saucepan, and add enough water to cover the surface. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add bacon, and season with salt, pepper and caraway seeds. Stir together the cornstarch and water; mix into the sauerkraut, and simmer for a few minutes before removing from the heat.
• Slice the dumpling loaf. Drizzle dumpling slices with some of the roast drippings from the pan. Serve with sauerkraut.