Polish plum dumplings (knedle ze śliwkami in Polish) are traditional Polish dumplings, very popular in summer. These delicious dumplings are made from plums wrapped in potato dough. They are served with buttered breadcrumbs and sweetened sour cream.
Knedle
It may not look like it, but knedle are served as a meatless main course rather than a dessert. It’s just a vegetarian meal that is often served on hot summer days. I have a sweet tooth so my knedle are sweetened but there is usually less or even no sugar added to most Polish knedle recipes.
The most popular are knedle filled with plums, but strawberries are also sometimes used (see this recipe for strawberry knedle). Knedle can also be completely savory and be stuffed with meat.
The word “knedle” is already plural! “Ze śliwkami” means “with plums”. Knedle is just the name of these particular dumplings and doesn’t mean anything.
Knedle are considered one of many Polish “kluski” (= dumplings) types, along kluski leniwe, kluski śląskie, pampuchy (steamed kluski), and kopytka dumplings.
Plum dumplings are popular in many Central/Eastern European countries. In Austria, for example, these dumplings are filled with apricots (also sometimes plums, but apricots are most popular). I have a recipe for Austrian apricot dumplings made from cheese dough, but they are also made with potato dough (the same as in this recipe for Polish knedle). The main difference is just in the coating/topping. Polish knedle are served with buttered breadcrumbs on the side/on top of them, while Austrian dumplings are coated in sugary breadcrumbs, also sometimes in ground nuts.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make knedle:
For the dumplings:
- Plums – it’s better to use small plums – larger fruit may not have time to soften.
- You can also use strawberries.
- Potatoes – use starchy/mealy potatoes such as Russets. You can use leftover potatoes from the day before.
- Egg – binds the dough together.
- Flour – all-purpose flour.
- Salt – to season the dough.
- Cinnamon – goes perfectly with plums.
- Sugar – is optional. I like to use sugar cubes because it’s easier to stuff plums with them in comparison to granulated sugar. Sugar is optional because as mentioned above this recipe is served as a meatless main dish rather than a dessert.
To serve:
- buttered breadcrumbs made with fine breadcrumbs (not Panko) and butter (you could also add some sugar)
- sweetened sour cream (sugar is optional but I personally like it sweet)
How to make knedle step by step
STEP 1: Peel the potatoes, chop them into evenly-sized chunks and cook until fork-tender, about 15-20 minutes.
While the potatoes are still warm, press them through a potato ricer or mash them with a potato masher. You can also grate them on the small holes of a potato grater. The best is potato ricer – it yields the fluffiest mashed potatoes.
Let the potatoes cool before adding the other ingredients (warm potatoes will absorb more flour making your dumplings tough).
STEP 2: Add flour, egg, and salt.
STEP 3: Stir the ingredients with a spoon until roughly combined, then knead the dough with your hands until you have a ball of dough. Don’t overwork the dough.
STEP 4: Transfer the dough to a wooden board sprinkled with flour. The dough will be a little bit sticky but try to not add more flour or the dough may end up too tough.
Knead the dough until just combined, not for too long. If you will wait until the flour is perfectly incorporated into the dough, you will notice that the dough becomes sticky. If you add more flour and incorporate it perfectly into the dough it will become sticky again and you will need to add more and more flour. So, it’s better to just add this 1 cup of flour (or even a little bit less) and then flour your hands while working with the dough. If there is a little bit more flour outside the dough (and not IN the dough) it will be easier to work with and will not be tough.
It’s difficult to provide the exact amount of flour needed for this recipe because it will depend on the type of potatoes and how big is your egg. The secret to the best potato dough is to add “just enough flour” – not too little so that the dough is too wet and sticky and also not too much so that it will come out too tough.
If your dough is too dry – you can add a small amount of milk or soft butter and if it’s too sticky/wet, you need to add more flour.
Divide the dough into 8 parts (if you have medium-sized plums). If you have smaller plums, divide it into 10 parts, or 8 parts if you want a thicker dough (it depends on your preferences).
STEP 5: Cut all the plums almost in half but not all the way through, just enough to remove the stone. Place 1 sugar cube and a pinch of cinnamon in the place of the stone.
STEP 6: Press both sides of the plum together.
STEP 7: Flour your hands. Take one part of the dough and flatten it into a disk.
STEP 8: Place one plum in the middle.
STEP 9: Wrap the dough around the plum. Pinch the seam well so it won’t open while cooking. Roll between your palms so you have a ball of dough.
STEP 10: Place all the dumplings on a well-floured board.
STEP 11: Cook knedle: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer (the water should not boil rapidly!). Gently lower 4 knedle on a spoon into the water. After a minute or so, stir the dumplings gently with a wooden spoon to make sure they’re not sticking to the bottom of the pot. When they float to the surface, cook them for 4 minutes. The cooking time may depend on the size of the dumplings. If you’re not sure how long to cook them, you can test cook just 1 dumpling. Remove the cooked dumplings from the water with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. Drizzle with melted butter to prevent the dumplings from sticking to each other. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.
STEP 12: While the dumplings are cooking, prepare the sides. Whisk the sour cream with powdered sugar until combined. Buttered breadcrumbs (bułka tarta): melt the butter in a medium pot/pan, when melted add the breadcrumbs, cook for a couple of minutes or until golden brown in color (be careful not to burn them).
Serve your knedle with breadcrumb topping and sour cream and sprinkle them with cinnamon.
Enjoy!
Storage
Knedle store well in the fridge for up to 2 days.
How to reheat them: the best would be to steam them or put them briefly into gently boiling water. You can also pan-fry them in butter until golden and warm.
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Polish Plum Dumplings (Knedle ze śliwkami)
Ingredients
for the dumplings:
- 1 pound (500g) starchy potatoes, such as Russets, this is 14oz/400g cooked potatoes or 2 cups lightly packed mashed potatoes
- 1 egg
- 1 cup (125g) flour + more for working with the dough
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 plums RIPE and preferably small but all sizes will work
- 8 sugar cubes or granulated sugar
- cinnamon
- butter for coating the dumplings
to serve:
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar or less
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup fine breadcrumbs
- cinnamon
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Instructions
Make the dough:
- Peel the potatoes, chop them into evenly-sized chunks and cook until fork-tender, about 15-20 minutes.
- While the potatoes are still warm, press them through a potato ricer or mash them with a potato masher. Let the potatoes cool before adding the other ingredients (warm potatoes will absorb more flour making your dumplings tough).
- Add flour, egg, and salt to the potatoes. Stir the ingredients with a spoon until roughly combined, then knead the dough with your hands until you have a ball of dough. Don't overwork the dough – it doesn't have to be perfectly smooth.
- Transfer the dough to a wooden board/silicone rolling mat sprinkled with flour. The dough will be a little bit sticky but try to not add more flour or the dough may end up too tough.
Prepare plums:
- Cut all the plums almost in half, remove the stones, place 1 sugar cube and a pinch of cinnamon in the place of the stone. Press both sides of the plum together.
Shape dumplings:
- Divide the dough into 8 parts (if you have medium-sized plums) using a knife or a bench scraper.
- Flour your hands. Take one part of the dough and flatten it into a disk. Place one plum in the middle. Wrap the dough around the plum. Pinch the seam well so it won’t open while cooking. Roll between your palms so you have a ball of dough.
- Place all the dumplings on a well-floured board.
Cook knedle:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer (the water should not boil rapidly!). Gently lower 4-5 knedle on a spoon into the water (a large and wide pot is preferred – you can add about 6-7 knedle to a wide and large pot, try not to add too many at once or the temperature of the water will drop too much and your dumplings will leak).After a minute or so, stir the dumplings gently with a wooden spoon to make sure they're not sticking to the bottom of the pot. When they float to the surface, cook them for 4 minutes. The cooking time may depend on the size of the dumplings. If you're not sure how long to cook them, you can test cook just 1 dumpling. Remove the cooked dumplings from the water with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. Drizzle with melted butter to prevent the dumplings from sticking to each other. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.
- While the dumplings are cooking, prepare the sides. Whisk the sour cream with powdered sugar until combined. Buttered breadcrumbs (bułka tarta): melt the butter in a medium pot/pan, when melted add the breadcrumbs, cook for a couple of minutes or until golden brown in color (be careful not to burn them).
- Serve your knedle with breadcrumb topping and sour cream and sprinkle them with cinnamon.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- The amount of flour: It’s difficult to provide the exact amount of flour needed for this recipe because it will depend on the type of potatoes and how big is your egg. The secret to the best potato dough is to add “just enough flour” – not too little so that the dough is too wet and sticky and also not too much so that it will come out too tough. Knead the dough until just combined, not for too long. If you will wait until the flour is perfectly incorporated into the dough, you will notice that the dough becomes sticky. If you add more flour and incorporate it perfectly into the dough it will become sticky again and you will need to add more and more flour. So, it’s better to just add this 1 cup of flour (or even a little bit less) and then flour your hands while working with the dough. If there is a little bit more flour outside the dough (and not IN the dough) it will be easier to work with and will not be tough. If your dough is too dry – you can add a small amount of milk or soft butter and if it’s too sticky/wet, you need to add more flour.
- Calories = 1 serving (4 dumplings, 1/2 of the recipe), dumplings and the toppings. This is only an estimate!
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