Švestkové Knedlíky (Plum Dumplings)

Let this blog post be your introduction to a delicious Czech treat called Švestkové Knedlíky.  My grandmother first served this to me for dinner when I was very small.  I remember being extremely surprised that these sweet dumplings were supposed to be a whole dinner.  In my grandparents' house, dinner usually involved a soup, meat course, dumplings or noodles, and a vegetable, followed by dessert.  But plum dumplings - as a whole meal?  I was shocked.  This was a dessert, not a dinner!  That being said (or at least written), I don't remember complaining.  Who complains about dessert for dinner at that age?  But my grandmother has only made them for me a few times since that fateful dinner, so they remain an exotic treat.  

You will need:

3-4 baking potatoes
1 tsp. salt
20 italian plums
all-purpose flour (you'll measure this by očko, by eye!)
1 egg

Peel the potatoes and cut them into large pieces.  Be sure to toss them in a pot of cold water asap once they're peeled (and again when chopped) so they don't start turning green...or black.  When you're ready to get cookin', fill your pot with fresh cold water until the potatoes are just barely covered.

Cover the pot and bring them them to a boil, then reduce to a simmer with the lid slightly askew (to keep them from boiling over). Cook them fully and then stab them with a sharp little knife to make sure they are soft.  Then drain your potatoes.

Without burning yourself, put them through a ricer into a large bowl.

Once they are fairly cool, begin to boil another pot of water.  Pat your potatoes down into the bowl and delicately cut the bowl into quarters (just in your mind, or with a knife - up to you).

Remove one quarter of the potatoes and fill in the empty quarter with flour.

Return the final quarter of potatoes to the bowl.  Add your egg.

Mix everything together, then knead it on a clean, floured cutting board.

Roll your dough into a log and keep in on your floured board.

If you have rinsed your plums, make sure they are dry - keep a paper towel handy and dry each plum before using.  Cut a one inch slice from your log, gently press it into a a circle, and use it to pocket your plum.

Place your plum dumpling onto a floured surface and keep going.

When your water is boiling, drop your first batch of dumplings into the pot.  Don't crowd them. Stick with 6-7 at a time.

First they will sink to the bottom.  Once they rise, give them another 3-5 minutes.  Then pluck one out with a slotted spoon and cut into it with a sharp knife. Be careful - they are hot and the juices inside are even hotter.  The potato casing will be cooked but make sure the plum is cooked too - perfectly soft, not like a raw plum.

Remove them all once you know your sample is done.  Cook your remaining dumplings in batches.  At this point, you can let them cool and then refrigerate or freeze them.  When you're ready to eat them, let them defrost if necessary, then reheat them in a steamer over boiling water.  These are typically served with a topping of breadcrumbs fried in butter, and a sprinkling of white sugar.  As I have already mentioned, my family is happy to make a dinner of this, with some farmer's cheese on the side, but I prefer to think of them as a dessert.  As a variation, they can also be made with small sweet apricots.