Subject: Czech/Hungarian Potato Dumplings
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: TheGolfersWife ()
Date: Wed, 02 May 2007 09:27:26 +1200
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I made Hungarian (or Czech) goulash last night and it was delicious. The accompanying potato dumpling recipe, however, was a disaster.
This particular recipe is featured all over the internet recipe sites for Czech potato dumplings. I think the problem was that I did not use enough flour - but then a quantity was not given. An egg yolk was featured in the ingredients but not in the method! I figured one added it to the cool riced potatoes. Maybe this recipe suffers from the Lost in Translation syndrome!
If someone could please provide me with a tried and tested potato dumpling recipe that includes accurate quantities and a good description of method I would be very grateful. I find that sometimes watching a dish being prepared on TV is quite different from that described in the written recipe! Same with dressmaking!!!
From: James Silverton (not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not)
Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 17:36:40 -0400
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I can't understand the problem. A quick Google search for Czech potato dumpling
came up with lots of recipes with quantities.
From: azazello at koroviev.de (Victor Sack)
Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 23:54:00 +0200
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TheGolfersWife wrote:
> I made Hungarian (or Czech) goulash last night and it was delicious.
When spelt "goulash", there is virtually no chance it could have been Hungarian (hungarian gulyás is a soup), and even Czech is questionable. German, probably.
> The accompanying potato dumpling recipe, however, was a disaster.
[snip]
> If someone could please provide me with a tried and tested potato
> dumpling recipe that includes accurate quantities and a good
> description of method I would be very grateful.
Here are two recipes, one Czech, the other Hungarian. The former is from the Time-Life Recipes: The Cooking of Vienna's Empire; the latter from _The Cuisine of Hungary_ by George Lang.
Bramborové Knedlíky
Potato Dumplings
To make 12 to 14 dumplings
5 medium-sized potatoes, boiled in their jackets, cooled, peeled and riced (about 2 3/4 cups riced)
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup farina or semolina
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons milk
In a large saucepan, bring 5 quarts of water to a boil. In a mixing bowl, combine the riced potatoes, flour, salt, farina or semolina, egg and milk. Mix them together with a wooden spoon until they form a smooth paste. Dust your hands with flour and form the mixture into balls about 1 inch in diameter.
Drop the dumplings into the boiling water and bring to a gentle boil again. Simmer the dumplings for about 10 minutes, or until they rise to the top.
____
Potato Dumplings
Krumplis gombóc
4 to 6 servings
2 medium-sized potatoes
1 tablespoon butter
1 heaping tablespoon flour
1 egg
Pinch of salt
1. Boil unpeeled potatoes in 2 quarts water. When done, peel them and purée while still warm.
2. Add butter, flour, egg and salt. Mix the dough and knead it well.
3. With a spoon cut off pieces of dough. Flour your hands and roll the pieces into round dumplings.
4. Drop dumplings into boiling soup and cook for about 5 minutes, until tender.
From: Melba's Jammin' (barbschaller at earthlink.net)
Date: Tue, 01 May 2007 17:18:01 -0500
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TheGolfersWife wrote:
> The accompanying potato dumpling recipe, however, was a disaster.
Could we see the recipe you used? Or a link to it?
Czech cuisine is more like German food; Slovak is more like Hungarian (so I'm told).
How were your dumplings formed?
The trouble with exact amounts is that potatoes vary in the amount of moisture they have, and the size of the egg will affect how wet things are and how much flour has to be included in order to achieve the consistency desired for however they'll be cooked.
You indicate you used riced potatoes - cooked. The only potato dumpling I'm familiar with (and not wildly fond of so I'm probably not a lot of help) is Slovak halushky and those are made from raw grated potato, flour, and egg.
Good luck in the hunt!
From: TheGolfersWife ()
Date: Wed, 02 May 2007 17:05:03 +1200
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Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>Could we see the recipe you used? Or a link to it?
Here is the link to the recipe I used. You will see that the flour shows one-half. But one-half of what?
https://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/europe/czech/potato-dumplings1.html
I think that by the time I had worked the riced potatoes on the floured board I would have used around a quarter-cup of flour. I also now think that the potatoes may have needed drying out more. As I am in New Zealand, I have to use the recommended local floury potato (which is called Agria). It is nothing like the US Idaho potatoes.
These Agria potatoes are yellow and mash up very well indeed. But whether this is suitable for potato dumplings is another thing!
>Czech cuisine is more like German food; Slovak is more like Hungarian
>(so I'm told).
>
>How were your dumplings formed?
I followed the recipe as best I could and formed the mixture into a log and then wrapped in cling wrap and put in the refrigerator for about a hour and a half. The log was still a bit sticky.
>The trouble with exact amounts is that potatoes vary in the amount of
>moisture they have, and the size of the egg will affect how wet things
>are and how much flour has to be included in order to achieve the
>consistency desired for however they'll be cooked.
>
>You indicate you used riced potatoes - cooked. The only potato dumpling
>I'm familiar with (and not wildly fond of so I'm probably not a lot of
>help) is Slovak halushky and those are made from raw grated potato,
>flour, and egg.
I have seen the recipes specifying raw grated potato. That method is very time-consuming and fiddly - not to mention wet cloths all over the place!!
Thanks for trying to help.
From: Giusi (decobabe at gmail.com)
Date: Wed, 02 May 2007 10:37:33 +0200
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What you are making is like gnocchi. The amount of flour needed is always flexible based on the water in the potatoes and the humidity of the day. You really do have to go by "feel." And that takes experience.
The dish you made would, IMO, be very nice with spaetsle, which is also kinder to the newcomer to the recipe. My pasta drainer, with wide holes, works easier than the Hungarian suggestion of cutting off bits with a knife!