Today I’m sharing my Czech (Bohemian) mother-in-law’s Strawberry Dumplings (Jahodové knedlíky) recipe. They are indulgent yummy balls of paradise. We ate them last night for dinner. Czechs usually eat them as a lunch, with 6-8 dumplings per person, but most people outside of Czech Republic may consider them a dessert. Three to four dumplings would be plenty for that.
The month of May marks the start of strawberry season in my area. I’ve noticed they are getting cheaper in my grocery stores. So this is the time to make these wonderful buggers. Other than fresh strawberries, all you need are basic pantry ingredients, plus farmer cheese (called “tvaroh” in Czech,). Never had farmer cheese? There is a chance your grocery store carries it near the cottage cheese section, but please please do NOT use cottage or ricotta cheese. They don’t work in this recipe.
Bohemian Strawberry Dumplings
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb plain soft farmer cheese (“měkký tvaroh”), plus either more for topping or some separate hard type (“tvrdý tvaroh) for topping (In the US, Friendship brand is preferred, if another is used, flour amount may need adjustment)
- 1 egg
- 6 Tbs all-purpose flour (Note: May need more if farmer’s cheese is very wet) or polohruba mouka
- pinch of salt
- 12-15 standard-size strawberries, washed and greens removed, or extra small Italian prune plums, stems removed (no need to pit)
- melted butter (for topping)
- small bits of farmer cheese for topping (grate the hard type)
- confectioner’s sugar (for topping)
- whipped cream (optional)
- Set a large pot of water on to boil and add a little salt.
- Mix soft type farmer cheese, egg, flour, and salt to form a soft dough. Knead thoroughly on floured board.
- On floured board, work the dough into a long cylindrical shape, which you’ll slice into roughly 12-15 even-sized pieces. Use these individual pieces of dough to wrap around the fruit until the fruit doesn’t show anymore. Flour hands frequently so the dough doesn’t stick to your hands. I usually roll the “balls” in my hand after wrapping to help distribute the dough evenly around the strawberries. Put wrapped dumplings on lightly floured plate until all are wrapped.
- Drop dumplings into the large pot of boiling salted water (make sure they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot). When water boils again, cover and simmer for about 5-6 minutes.
- Spoon cooked dumplings out of pot onto plates with a large slotted spoon. Serve with more farmer cheese (either little globs of the soft type or large hole grated hard type), drizzle of melted butter, healthy dusting of confectioner’s sugar, and optional whipped cream and fresh strawberries to decorate. Yield: Serves 2 for lunch or 4 for dessert. Recipe doubles easily.
With practice, a single batch of this recipe made fresh takes about 15-20 minutes to prep, and 6 mins to boil.
Note 1: Wrapping the dough around the strawberries takes a little practice. Perhaps the first time start with 12 strawberries/12 dough portions. If using Italian prune plums, there will be a couple fewer.
Note 2: Uncooked wrapped dumplings may be frozen. Arrange uncooked dumplings on small cookie sheet or large plate lined with waxed or parchment paper. Cover with paper and freeze over night. Put frozen dumplings in plastic freezer bags. To prepare, boil frozen dumplings in boiling water for about 10-12 minutes to thaw and cook. This makes for a quick delicious treat any day of the week.
Once strawberries become out of season and more expensive, consider using small ripe Italian prune plums (smaller than regular plums), instead. They are usually in stores about a month or so later, where available. In Czech these dumplings are called “Švestkové knedlíky”. Cook these a couple minutes longer than the strawberry dumplings.
Generally no one eats one full dumpling in one bite, except for maybe my brother – LOL! After they are cooked, slice them open to see the cross-section of the beautiful fruit. As mentioned, no need to remove the pits from the Italian prune plums before wrapping them in dough. Just remove the stems. Remove the pit after you slice open the delicious steaming dumpling. It removes easily.
I have received concerns that farmer cheese may not be available in your area. Please do ask. I didn’t know about it until my husband introduced me to it, and then I discovered it was available all along. If it isn’t, and you have the motivation, try making your own with the recipe at http://allrecipes.com/recipe/73981/home-made-farmers-cheese/ This will be a soft type. I suppose it could be made into a harder style if more whey is removed.
