Plum Dumplings (Češpljevi `knedlci’)
Plum dumplings are common throughout Central and Eastern Europe and are presumed to have originated in the times of the Austro-Hungarian empire. They are typically prepared when plums ripen, which is in late summer and early fall.
When I was little, we always had plums growing in our garden and one of my favorite lunches growing up were plum dumplings served with sugar and cinnamon (always prepared by grandma, of course). In the Savinja valley we call them češpljevi knedlci, with the word knedlci derived from the German word Knödel or dumpling.
The type of plum most commonly used is damson. My father swears by the variety called Bosanka. The dumplings in this photo were prepared with the Bosanka damson, whose flesh is so juicy that once you pierce the dumpling the juice spills out immediately.
Recipe
Ingredients:
300 g Farmer’s cheese
60 g melted butter
2 eggs
100 g semolina flour
100 g flour
12-16 damsons or small plums (if you use bigger plums, use half a plum for each dumpling)
50 g butter
2 tbsp bread crumbs
salt, sugar
Instructions:
Mix farmer’s cheese with melted butter until smooth.
Add the semolina, eggs, and flour, and mix well. The dough should be smooth and not stick to your hands. If necessary, add a little bit of flour, but be careful not to make the dough hard.
Leave to rest for about 30 min.
Pit the plums if you wish (my grandma would always leave the kernels inside).
Damsons plums in my mother-in-law’s garden.
- Take about a tablespoon of dough, flatten it, and place a plum in the center. Add a teaspoon of sugar (depending on how sweet the plums are) to the plum.
- Tightly wrap the dough around the plum, seal the edges, and shape it into a ball.
- Repeat steps 5 and 6 until you have used up all the dough and the plums.
- Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot. Cook the plum dumplings for about 12-15 minutes in slightly simmering water – they should float to the surface towards the end. After you start cooking, stir them a little to make sure that they do not stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Melt the butter in a pan. Add the bread crumbs, and fry them while stirring continuously until they are golden brown.
- Remove the dumplings from the water with a slotted spoon and transfer them to the pan with the breadcrumbs. Roll the dumplings in the crumbs until they are coated.
- Serve immediately sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.