La Petite Plum Knödeln

Sweet knödeln or dumplings filled with whole plums or apricots are an Austrian specialty that are eaten in place of the main meal rather than as a dessert course. The reason for this is two-fold; they are quite substantial fare and for Catholic Austria they became the meatless meal for Fridays and Lent in the lead up to Easter. Curious that the Austrians equated a meal of sweet fruit dumplings sprinkled with buttered, toasted breadcrumbs and sugar as their hair shirt but I guess the lack of whipped cream was sufficient self-sacrifice.

Summer is the best time to make these dumplings as apricots and plums are in season and the smaller and sweeter the fruit you get, the better, otherwise you will end up with dumplings the size of tennis balls. The ideal plum is the D’Agen, sold as La Petite Plums here in Victoria. Apart from their requisite small size, they have a lovely sweet and intense flavour. An alternative plum is the Angelina, a freestone plum but larger than the D’Agen. Apricots are best used early in the season when they are still on the small side. Finding small commercially grown apricots is near impossible these days but you may find some at farmers markets. Normally the stone is removed and replaced with a sugar cube before making the dumpling but you may find taking the stones out of these plums very fiddly as they are not freestone. I would leave them in but warn your guest and these days a sugar cube per dumpling is way too sugary and pretty unnecessary.

Plum Dumplings (Zwetschgenknödeln)

Serves 6

1 kg potatoes ( Desiree, Coliban or King Edward or any other good baking varieties) 30 g butter 250 g plain flour ( or Tipo 00 flour for pasta making) 50 g semolina 1 large egg, beaten 18 plums (approx. 550 g) 250 g butter, melted 1 cup dry breadcrumbs (Not Panko) 1/2 tsp salt pure icing sugar ( for dusting)

Boil unpeeled potatoes until tender. If you have a potato ricer you can make really light and fluffy mash without the risk of turning the mash into a heavy paste. If using a ricer, don’t peel the potatoes, halve them and place one half cut side down inside the ricer. Squeeze through the potato onto a clean bench. Flick out the skin with the point of a knife and continue with the rest of the potato. If you don’t have a ricer, peel the potatoes and push them through a sieve.

Cut the 30 grams of butter into little pieces and place on top of the pile of mash. Once cool gently mix in the flours and the egg and bring the dough together with a gentle kneading.

Pinch off a ball of dough about twice the size of the plum, flatten it a little in the palm of your hand, place the plum in the centre and wrap the dough tightly around it. Pinch off any excess dough and roll into a neat ball. Melt the butter in a saute pan. Add the breadcrumbs, stirring until they absorb the butter and start to become a golden brown (the butter to breadcrumb ratio should be 1:1, so add more crumbs if needed). Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, reduce to medium heat and cook the knödel for approximately 10-15 minutes. They will rise to the top, much like gnocchi, when they are nearly done. Using a large slotted spoon drain each knödel and remove to the buttered breadcrumbs, gently rolling the knödel until well coated. Serve at once with a dusting of icing sugar. In our cafe, sixteen83, we took a very secular approach and served them with a spoon of Marsala cream (cream whipped with a little sugar and Marsala wine) for some extra indulgence.