Kartoffelknödel

Being German, we love potatoes. No, really, I could eat potatoes with every meal. But to pair with our Pot Roast, I decided to try something new: dumplings. There are several different dumpling recipes in The German & Viennese Cookbook - some savory, some sweet. I had never made dumplings like this before, but I think they turned out all right.

Kartoffelknödel/Potato Dumplings

6 medium (about 2 lbs) potatoes
1 tbsp butter
1 slice bread
2 qts water
2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp MSG
1/8 tsp white pepper
2/3 to 3/4 C flour
1/4 C cornstarch

Wash, cut, and boil potatoes until tender. I left the skins on my potatoes for a little extra fiber and less food waste. Drain potatoes and dry thoroughly. Mash or rice potatoes and set aside to cool completely.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet. Cut bread into cubes. I used some leftover sourdough bread I had laying around - I think it added a nice, authentic flavor. Put cubes of bread into skillet and toss until coated with butter and browned. Set aside to cool.

Bring water and salt to boiling in a saucepan.

When potatoes are cool, whip in egg and seasonings until fluffy. Add cornstarch and enough flour to make a soft dough. Break off pieces of potato dough and shape into balls about 1-2in. in diameter. Poke one bread cube into the center of each ball.

Drop the dumplings into the boiling water. Cook only as many at a time as will sit uncrowded one layer deep. Cook about 5 minutes or until dumplings float to surface of water.

 
Carefully remove with a slotted spoon and drain. Serve with melted butter and sauerkraut, meat, or poultry.

I thought this was a really novel approach - making a dough out of mashed potatoes? It was a little bland, but that's easily fixed. Feel free to add a tad more salt and pepper to the dough, or any other spices you favor. When I removed the dumplings from the water, they seemed very loose to me and I was worried about them falling apart. But, after draining them and letting them sit on a plate for a few minutes, they firmed up. I was hoping that the bread cube/crouton in the center of each would provide a little crunch, but they seem to have gotten soft, so I'm not sure what their purpose is. These dumplings were really good at sopping up the delicious gravy from the Pot Roast, so this was definitely a success.

Have a question or a request? Put it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond. Fröhe essen!