Knedle ze Śliwkami (Polish Plum Dumplings)

Knedle ze śliwkami are Polish plum dumplings: a whole plum wrapped in soft potato dough, simmered until it floats and finished with melted butter and sugar. They turn up as soon as the węgierki, the Italian prune plums, ripen in late summer.

They look impressive but the method is simple. A soft potato dough with no lumps and a tight seal around each plum are what matter. Below you will also find how to pick plums, including frozen and canned, and how to freeze the dumplings.

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Knedle ze Śliwkami (Polish Plum Dumplings)

A soft potato dough is wrapped around a halved plum, so each dumpling has a warm, juicy plum inside. In Poland they are a sweet main for lunch or a light supper, and they also work as a warm dessert. Serve them hot, with butter and sugar, or with a spoon of soured cream.

What Are Knedle ze Śliwkami?

Knedle are a kind of filled kluski, the Polish word for dumplings. The potato dough goes around a whole plum and the dumpling is boiled until it floats. The name came into Polish from German, and an old Polish dictionary from 1902 lists them as a German dish. The Polish culinary histories record them in 19th century cookbooks, mostly sweet ones with plums, apricots or cherries, and sometimes filled with twaróg or crackling instead.

If you like potato dumplings, my kluski leniwe and Silesian dumplings use the same kind of dough, with no filling.

How to Choose Plums

The plum matters as much as the dough. Here is what I look for.

• Italian prune plums are the ones. Small, dark, firm and sweet, with a stone that comes out cleanly. In Poland they are called węgierki and they appear in late summer.
• Ripe but firm. A soft plum falls apart when you pit it and floods the dough with juice.
• Hard plums stay hard in the middle, because a few minutes in the dough will not soften them. Use ripe ones.
• Big juicy plums work if you cut them smaller, but expect a wetter dumpling.
• Sour plums are fine. The butter and sugar at the end balance them.
• Frozen plums. I have not made knedle with them myself, and Polish recipes disagree. One of the most popular says to thaw the plums and dry them first, and another says to wrap them while they are still frozen.
• Canned plums. I have not tried these either. They are softer and sweeter, so drain them very well and pat them dry.

Equipment You’ll Need

A ricer for the potato and a big pot for the dumplings.

A Closer Look at the Ingredients

Seven ingredients, and each one has a job.

• Floury potatoes 500 g after cooking. Floury, starchy potatoes such as Maris Piper or Russet are what you want. Waxy potatoes hold too much water and the dough falls apart. Instead: Any floury baking potato.
• Plain flour 200 g, a full glass with a heap on top. Use only as much as the dough takes, because the less flour, the lighter the dumpling.
• Egg It binds the dough and gives it a little spring.
• Potato starch A heaped tablespoon firms the dough, so it holds without extra flour. Instead: Cornflour.
• Small Italian plums Węgierki in Polish. Firm, sweet and dark, and the stone comes out easily. They give off less juice than big round plums. Instead: Damsons, halved apricots or whole strawberries.
• Sugar Dusted over the hot dumplings with the butter.
• Butter 60 g, melted and poured over the hot dumplings.

How to Make Knedle ze Śliwkami, Step by Step

Full quantities are in the recipe card below. You can use potatoes left over from the day before, or cook them fresh and rice them while they are still slightly warm.

1. Cook the Potatoes. Peel the potatoes, cut them into even pieces and boil them in salted water until a fork goes in easily, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain them very well and rice them while they are still slightly warm. Weigh out 500 g. Cold potatoes left over from the day before work too.A floury potato riced straight after cooking lets its steam escape, so the dough needs less flour, and less flour means less gluten, which keeps the dumpling soft instead of chewy. Warm potato is also softer to work with.Which potato: floury ones. Waxy potatoes are wetter and the dough tends to fall apart in the water.Weigh after cooking: the 500 g is cooked, peeled potato. I boil a little over 700 g raw to be sure of it.Dry them: after draining, leave the potatoes in the hot pot for a minute so the steam leaves. Wet potato is what makes a sticky dough.Leftover potato: cold boiled potato from the fridge, up to 2 days old, works as well. Press it through the ricer the same way.
2. Mix the Dough. Add the egg, plain flour, potato starch and a pinch of salt to the potato. Mix until you have a smooth dough with no lumps, adding a little extra flour only if it sticks to your hands.The starch firms the dough so it holds without extra flour, and the egg binds it. Dumpling dough wants the least working that holds it together, because kneading builds gluten and gluten makes it chewy.Too sticky: the cause is usually wet potato, so do not keep adding flour, because that is what turns the dumplings hard. Add it a spoonful at a time, only until the dough just stops sticking to your hands.Too much flour: makes the dumplings heavy, so go slowly.
3. Prepare the Plums. Wash the plums, halve them and take out the stones. Pat them dry and press the halves back together.Keeping the halves together means each dumpling still has a whole plum in it. A wet plum leaks into the dough, and then the seam is harder to close.Ripe but firm: a soft plum falls apart when you take the stone out.Sugar inside: many cooks put about half a teaspoon of sugar, or sugar and cinnamon, into each plum before pressing the halves together. It melts into a little syrup, and it helps if your plums are tart.
4. Divide the Dough. Roll the dough on a floured surface into a log about 4 cm thick and cut it into pieces about 3 cm long. You will get about 15.Equal pieces cook in the same time, so none of them are raw in the middle while another is done.Dusting: flour the surface lightly and only as much as you need, because extra flour dries the dough out.
5. Flatten the Dough. Flatten a piece into a disc on the palm of your hand, a little wider than the plum.A disc a little wider than the plum gives you enough dough to bring up around it without stretching it thin.Thin spots: a thin patch is where the plum juice escapes, so keep the dough an even thickness all the way round.
6. Fill with the Plum. Set a plum in the middle of the disc.Centring it matters, because dough pulled up from one side ends up thick there and thin on the other.Juicy plums: if one is wet on the outside, dab it with kitchen paper before it goes on the dough.
7. Seal and Roll. Bring the dough up and around the plum, pinch the seam shut and roll it smooth between floured palms. No plum should show and there should be no cracks.A tight seal is the whole job. A crack lets juice out and water in, and the dumpling comes apart in the pot. Rolling it smooth closes small gaps you cannot see.Keep going: put the finished ones on a floured board, not touching, until the pot is ready.
8. Simmer the Dumplings. Bring a large, wide pot of water to the boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt. Cook one dumpling first to check the dough and the seal, then cut it open. Lower the rest in, stir gently once and turn the heat down so the water keeps a gentle boil. Once they float, cook them for 4 minutes.A wide pot lets all 15 cook in one go without sticking together. A hard boil knocks the dumplings about and tears the seams, so keep it gentle. A dumpling floats once its inside is close to boiling point, which is why it is nearly done when it rises. Plain dumplings need only another minute or so, but these have a plum in the middle and a thick wall of dough, so give them the 4 minutes.Test one: if the test dumpling splits, add a little flour to the dough or reseal the rest more firmly before you cook them.Small pot: if it is too small for 15 at once, cook them in two batches.
9. Finish and Serve. Melt the butter in a small pan. Lift the dumplings out with a slotted spoon, drain them and put them on a wide plate. Pour over the butter, dust with the sugar and serve straight away.They are best hot, when the dough is soft and the plum inside is still running. As they cool the dough firms up.Soured cream: a spoonful of 18% soured cream on the side is a good addition if you like it.Breadcrumbs: or toast 60 g fine dry breadcrumbs in a dry pan on a medium low heat until they darken, then stir in 60 g butter and 1 tablespoon of sugar and spoon it over.

Recipe Card for Knedle ze Śliwkami

Recipe Card

Knedle ze Śliwkami (Polish Plum Dumplings)

Soft potato dumplings with a whole plum folded inside, simmered until they float and finished with melted butter and sugar. A Polish late summer favourite, served as a sweet main or a warm dessert.

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Prep

30 min

Cook

30 min

Total

1 hr

Serves

5

Per serving

378 kcal

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5 portions (3 dumplings each)

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Equipment I Use

Potato RicerLarge PotSlotted SpoonDigital Kitchen Scales

Ingredients

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Potato Dough

500 g Floury Potatoes, weighed after cooking, peeled and riced while still slightly warm 200 g Plain Flour, a full glass, heaped, plus a little extra for the board 1 Egg, medium 1 tbsp Potato Starch, heaped 1 pinch Salt, for the dough

Plums

15 Small Italian Prune Plums, about 300 g, washed, halved, pitted and patted dry

To Finish

60 g Butter, melted 1 tbsp Sugar, for dusting 1 tbsp Salt, for the boiling water

Instructions

Tap a step to tick it off as you cook.

Make the Dough

1

Cook the Potatoes

Peel the potatoes, cut them into even pieces and boil them in salted water until a fork goes in easily, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain very well and rice them while they are still slightly warm. Weigh out 500 g. Cold potatoes left over from the day before work too.

2

Mix the Dough

Add the egg, plain flour, potato starch and a pinch of salt to the potato. Mix until you have a smooth dough with no lumps, adding a little extra flour only if it sticks to your hands.

Fill and Shape

3

Prepare the Plums

Wash the plums, halve them and take out the stones. Pat them dry and press the halves back together.

4

Divide the Dough

Roll the dough on a floured surface into a log about 4 cm thick and cut it into pieces about 3 cm long. You will get about 15.

5

Flatten the Dough

Flatten a piece into a disc on the palm of your hand, a little wider than the plum.

6

Fill with the Plum

Set a plum in the middle of the disc.

7

Seal and Roll

Bring the dough up and around the plum, pinch the seam shut and roll it smooth between floured palms. No plum should show and there should be no cracks.

Cook and Serve

8

Simmer the Dumplings

Bring a large, wide pot of water to the boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt. Lower the dumplings in, stir gently once and turn the heat down so the water keeps a gentle boil. Once they float, cook them for 4 minutes.

9

Finish and Serve

Melt the butter in a small pan. Lift the dumplings out with a slotted spoon, drain them and put them on a wide plate. Pour over the butter, dust with the sugar and serve straight away.

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Chef’s notes＋

• Rice the potato while it is still slightly warm, or use cold leftover potato. Wet or lumpy potato soaks up too much flour and the dumplings turn heavy.
• Use only as much flour as the dough takes. Add extra a spoonful at a time and stop as soon as it stops sticking.
• Seal every plum fully. Any crack lets the juice out into the water.
• For crunch, toast 60 g fine dry breadcrumbs in a dry pan, then stir in 60 g butter and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Serve with 18% soured cream.
• Freeze them raw on a tray, then bag them, and cook straight from frozen, adding a couple of minutes after they float.
• Cooked knedle keep in the fridge for 2 days. Warm them gently in a little butter.

Nutrition per serving＋

378 kcalProtein 7.6 gCarbs 62.1 gFat 11.3 gSat fat 6.6 gFibre 3.7 gSugar 9.4 gSodium 217 mgServing 227 g

Knedle ze Śliwkami (Polish Plum Dumplings) · https://chefsbinge.com/knedle-ze-sliwkami/

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What to Serve With Knedle

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We eat them hot with melted butter and sugar. If you like, add a spoon of soured cream on the side, or toast fine dry breadcrumbs in a pan, stir in butter and sugar and spoon that over instead. For more sweet Polish dishes, see my traditional Polish desserts.

Storing, Freezing and Reheating

Cooked knedle keep in the fridge for 2 days in an airtight container, and they firm up when cold. Warm them gently in a pan with a little butter. To freeze, freeze them raw: lay the uncooked dumplings on a floured tray, freeze them solid, then tip them into a bag. Cook them straight from frozen in simmering water and give them a couple of extra minutes after they float. Do not thaw them first, or they go soft and split.

FAQ for Knedle ze Śliwkami

A Few Words from the Chef

I first ate knedle as a child in a Polish milk bar, with my family. They still taste of those few weeks when the plums are dark and heavy. Cut the first one open while it is hot and the plum is still running. If you make them, tell me in the comments how you served them. Smacznego!