Basic recipes taken from The Cooking Of Burgenland by Alois Schmidl as translated by Robert Strauch. Published by Edition Roetzer, Wien-Eisenstadt.
In a message dated , a corrspondent writes:
I'm sure you don't want to turn the newsletters into a "recipe club" but mention was made in newsletter 128B of plum dumplings made with a potato dough and bread crumbs.
Reply: I thought it was time to feature these in the newsletter. You get a preview for suggesting same.
You will find many Burgenland recipes in our newsletter archives under the title "Taste Of The Burgenland." Our ethnic heritage lives on in the memory of our tastebuds and stomachs!
Zwetschk'nknödln (plum dumplings) are my all time favorite. I believe we touched on this delicacy a number of times but haven't published a recipe, as you state. It is one of those "kitchen food" recipes, often served as a dessert or for a snack called Mehlspeisen. It utilizes a potato dough dumpling filled with sugared fruit (plums are most often used, although I had a strawberry dumpling at the Hotel Burgenland in Eisenstadt). The dumplings are boiled and put in a large frying pan with buttered breadcrumbs and often served with a sauce made of the same fruit as the filling, but the dumplings really make their own sauce when you open them. If you are lucky you will also get some rolled noodles ("wutszels") made of the same dough and also covered with buttered breadcrumbs as an accompaniment.
(from Alois Schmidl, suggested by Bob Strauch)
- 1 recipe potato dough
- 1-1/2 doz. Italian plums (the little purple ones which come in the Fall are best-you want a very sweet plum)
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 4 Tbsp. powdered sugar
- granulated sugar or sugar cubes
Prepare dough. While potatoes are cooking, prepare plums by washing, removing pits and replacing with a sugar cube or about 1/2 - 1 tsp granulated sugar, set aside. With well floured hands, work dough into a 3 inch diameter roll. Cut 1/2 inch slices. Quickly roll out each slice thin and wrap a prepared plum in it, pinching all edges closed (if they leak your dumplings are ruined.) Roll dumplings between floured hands until a smooth ball is formed. Cook in simmering salted water for 10-15 minutes, (when dumplings rise to the surface of the water they are done) drain and roll in slightly browned buttered breadcrumbs in a large pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately while still warm.
Variations:
Serve with a sauce made by boiling sugar and peeled and pitted mashed fruit
with a little water-for a real adult Hungarian flair-add a few teaspoons of
plum brandy (Slivovitz). I wonder if I could invent a "flaming Zwetschk'nknödln"?
Serve with "Wutszels" made of leftover dough, tear off marble sized pieces and roll into oblong shapes about 1/2 inch in diameter. Boil these along with the dumplings, scooping them out when they rise to the surface. Set aside and add to pan of breadcrumbs when dumplings are added. These were utilized to use up left over dough but grandparents often made just these (sans fruit) as a treat for youngsters.
Use apricots, prunes (pitted and slightly cooked) or even large strawberries in place of plums.
When you cut into these with a fork, a sauce of plum juice and sugar will run out flavoring the dumpling. The amount of sugar used can be adjusted to taste. You can also try vanilla sugar or even a sugar substitute like "Splenda." If any dumplings are left over (ha-ha) they can be reheated in a microwave but don't let them dry out.
Crumbs made from Vienna bread or Italian bread seem to taste best although that may be a purists choice. Do not burn the butter or crumbs. Mealy potatoes seem to work best. These dumplings are labor intensive but well worth the effort-I bribed a waiter to get me a serving of those being served to full pension guests in a Baden hotel-we hadn't taken full pension. Zwetschk'nknödln and Palatschinken (filled pancakes) are a permanent menu feature of the Hotel/Pension Krutzler in Heiligenbrunn, southern Burgenland. Zwetschk'nknödln must have been frozen or prepared for quick service in some manner because we didn't have to wait long to get them. I must look into this. Perhaps they can be frozen and reheated and still taste freshly made-does anyone know?