600 g of potatoes
12 tablespoons of flour
1 egg
salt
bacon for frying
cottage cheese
sour cream
My grandmother used to make this wonderful dish.
I’ve never encountered these dumplings anywhere else — only in our family.
Here’s the cooking process in detail.
1. Peel the potatoes and grate them finely (I had about 600 g, which is enough for 4 large servings). Chop the bacon finely and fry it until crispy — I like to use a lot of it.
2. Add 1 egg and about 12 heaping tablespoons of flour. Make the dough quite thick, thicker than sour cream; adjust the amount of flour depending on the type you’re using. Add salt to taste. Sometimes my grandmother would also add leftover boiled mashed potatoes if she had any; that makes the dumplings softer, but I never do that.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Dip a tablespoon into the boiling water, scoop a bit of dough from the bowl, and drop the dumpling into the pot. It should release easily from the spoon and sink to the bottom. Keep the water boiling as you work. Repeat with the remaining dough, adding dumplings one at a time rather than in clumps or layers (I usually do two layers at most).
4. When the dumplings float to the surface, stir them gently with a spoon (they might stick together sometimes) and let them simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. The cooking time depends on the size of the dumplings. After about 5 minutes, take one out and cut it in half on a plate to check that it’s cooked through. If they’re done, scoop them out with a slotted spoon or drain them in a large colander. Transfer them to a deep bowl and drizzle with the bacon fat. Cover the bowl with a lid and shake it a few times so the dumplings get well coated and don’t stick together.
Watch the pot: when you drop the dumplings in, the water may stop boiling and then start again; before it starts boiling it can threaten to overflow, so keep a close eye on the pot — cleaning the stove afterward can be a hassle.
5. Prepare the sauce. I make a lot because these dumplings should be served with plenty of sauce and crispy bacon bits.
Use two packages of cottage cheese and about half a liter of liquid sour cream (store-bought). Mix them together and season with salt to taste. Serve topped with the crispy bacon.
