When I was in Prague, I ordered these dumplings at a restaurant. When I tried one, it reminded me of the dumplings my babicka used to make, when she visited us from Czechoslovakia (as it was called back then). That was an emotional moment!
makes 12 dumplings, serving 4 to 6, depending on your degree of gluttony!
2 cups all-purpose flour (unbleached works well)
1 egg
2 Tbsp melted butter
1/4 c. milk (amount is approximate: see below)
1 tsp salt
1 pint fresh blueberries (or prunes, peaches, apricots, cherries, quartered apples or pears)
for the topping:
melted butter
cottage cheese (opt)
bread crumbs fried in butter or crumbled cookie crumbs (opt)
icing sugar
Put the flour and salt in a food processor, and pulse a few times until combined. With the machine running, slowly add the whole egg and melted butter to the flour, and keep whirring the mixture until it looks like wet sand. With the machine running, slowly pour in about 4 or 5 tablespoons of the milk until the dough forms a ball in the machine. Keep adding milk, 1 Tb at a time, just until the ball forms. Set the dough on a floured surface and knead it by hand for a minute or two until nice and smooth. Place the dough ball in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and leave it to rest for up to two hours. It’s important to let the dough rest, as this develops the gluten and makes it easier to work with.
When ready to assemble the dumplings, put a large pot of water to boil on the stove. Salt the water generously (approximately 1 Tbsp salt in a large pot of water). Prepare a floured work surface and pull off a golf-ball-sized piece of dough from your dough ball. Roll the piece out in a circle with a rolling pin, rolling back and forth while keeping the dough moving in a circle to create a nice round. Try to make the edges a little thinner, as they will have to be crimped up. The dough will not be paper-thin; it will be about as thick as a piecrust.
When your circle is ready, brush some water on the outside edges. Place a small amount of fruit on the circle. Experience will help you with how much fruit to add; the tendency is to load the poor dumpling up with so much fruit that you won’t be able to close it. Pull the outside edges in, and try to overlap them, while twisting a bit so the effect is somewhat like those leather change purses that crimp when you close them. Take the ball in your hand and try to shape it into an even ball, once again checking your seams. You may need to add a few extra drops of water to the holes to help seal them.
Drop the dumplings into the water and cook them in simmering water for 8-9 minutes, until they look done (glossy but not slimy). Remove from water immediately, sprinkle with melted butter and keep in a colander over hot water until ready to serve.
Arrange your creations on a platter, sprinkle with more melted butter a
nd sift icing sugar over the plate. It’s hard to imagine how anything could improve upon this, but a little crumbled cottage cheese, some bread crumbs fried in butter, or some crumbled ginger snaps add a nice touch.
