Plum or apricot dumplings are one of my favorite Slovak dishes. Since these fruits are now in season, I figured you may want to try them. They are very easy to make and quite different from anything in the typical American cuisine. Here is how to make fruit dumplings (ovocné knedličky).
Ingredients: 500g of plums or apricots (smaller the better), 300g flour (slightly over 2 cups), 1 dl milk (about half a cup), 1 egg, 6 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons bread crumbs, 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Here are the plums and apricots I used. I left the pits in but you can take them out if you like.
Bring the milk to a boil and add to the flour along with one tablespoon of butter. Add salt and mix until you get semi-hard dough. Wait for the dough to cool off before adding the egg. Keep mixing until you get a smooth dough (cesto).
In the mean time, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Transfer the dough onto a board dusted with flour and, using a rolling pin, roll to thickness of about 5 mm.
Cut the dough into pieces about the size of your palm. Wrap a plum (slivka) or an apricot (marhuľa) in each square. First spread the dough over the fruit, and then roll it between your palms (it helps to dust them with flour first) to smooth out any non-uniformities.
Cook the dumplings until they float up. This will take about 10-15 minutes.
In the mean time, melt the remaining butter and add the breadcrumbs (strúhanka). Fry for few minutes until they turn brown. Turn the heat off, and add the powdered sugar.
Drain the dumplings and top with the delicious toasted bread crumb topping along with more melted butter. My dumplings look brown because I used a whole-wheat flour, they will be white if you use the all-purpose kind. Enjoy!
By the way, there are other recipes for these dumplings. One of the first recipes on this website was for plum dumplings made with a dough that you stir in a pot on the stove. Those were topped with poppy seeds. Another common topping is cinnamon. And if you are into sweets, make sure to checkout žemlovka, an apple bread pudding, as well as poppy seed noodles. All these dishes are eaten as the main course for lunch or dinner. Who said that lunch or dinner must be salty?
