Plum dumplings are made with potato dough wrapped around a fresh plum, popped in boiling water, then coated in a sweet, buttery bread crumb mixture.Coming from Central and Eastern Europe, they are known under many names: knedle sa šljivama, Zwetschkenknödel, szilvás gombóc, gomboce.
Wash potatoes, boil with skin on until tender. Drain cooked potatoes, cool, then peel the skin off
While potatoes are cooking, prepare bread crumb mixture and plums
Melt the butter in the pan over a low heat
Add bread crumbs, mix and toast them for about 2-3 minutes
Mix in sugar and cinnamon, take off the heat, set aside
Prepare plums
Wash and pat dry the plums
Remove the pit by squeezing the pointy ends, opening the plum lengthwise only on one side. If that's difficult, use a small knife to do the job.
Make the dough
Press peeled potatoes through the potato ricer or grate them on a fine grater
Add egg and salt and 150 g of flour, mix
Keep adding more flour incrementally while kneading (see note 1)
Form dumplings
Just before you form a dumpling, add a teaspoon of sugar in the plum where the pit was. Even easier is to put a sugar cube if you have them.
Wet your hands
Take 70 g of dough, form a ball, flatten, then put the plum in the centre. Wrap the dough around it, seal the seam and roll gently in between palms (see note 2)
Cook dumplings
Bring a large pot of water and a teaspoon of salt to boil
Lower the dumplings gently using a large spoon and simmer until they start floating. Depending on the size, boil a further 2-4 minutes
Take dumplings out with a slotted spoon, drain
Roll in prepared bread crumb mixture to coat evenly
Arrange in a single layer on a serving platter to serve immediately, or let cool before storing in the fridge.
Notes
The amount of flour you use will depend on the moisture content in the potatoes. You might not need all the flour, so add it incrementally to control the firmness of the dough. Aim for Goldilocks rule: dough that is not too soft and not too firm.
70 g of dough per dumpling is an estimate. If using larger fruit or you like more dough around it, use more than indicated. Increase the cooking time accordingly.