Silesian dumplings (, ,
,
Silesian German
Silesian (Silesian: ', german: Schlesisch), Silesian German or Lower Silesian is a nearly extinct German dialect spoken in Silesia. It is part of the East Central German language area with some West Slavic and Lechitic influences. Silesian G ...
: ''schläsche Kließla'') are potato
dumpling
Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources), oftentimes wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, ...
s traditional to the
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. S ...
region of Poland and Germany. They are also called ''białe kluski''
("white dumplings").
Preparation
The dough for white dumplings is made of first boiled
and then
mashed
Mashed may refer to:
* Mashed, that created from mash ingredients
* Mashed, the result of a mashing
* Mashed, the result of a mashup (music)
* ''Mashed'' (album), a 2007 mashup album
* ''Mashed'' (video game), a vehicular combat video game
* M ...
potatoes (moderately cooled, but still warm),
potato flour
Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...
and a little bit of
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...
. The ratio of potatoes and flour is about 3:1 or 4:1. In some recipes, a whole egg may be added to the dough
[Rose Petal Jam - Recipes and Stories from a Summer in Poland by Beata Zatorska and Simon Target, published by Tabula Books April 2011 ] (this helps shaping if the mashed potatoes cooled too much and the shaping becomes problematic).
There are two methods of forming the dumplings. The first one is by slicing them up with a knife from the dough rolls.
The other way is to just hand roll them from the dough and flatten. Finally, a depression for gravy is made with a thumb.
The dumplings are then boiled in salted water until they float to the surface.
Service
The dish consisting of the dumplings, fried beef
rouladen
A roulade () is a dish of filled rolled meat or pastry. Roulade can be savory or sweet. Swiss roll is an example of a sweet roulade. Traditionally found in various European cuisines, the term ''roulade'' originates from the French word ''ro ...
with rich gravy, and boiled
red cabbage
The red cabbage (purple-leaved varieties of ''Brassica oleracea'' Capitata Group) is a kind of cabbage, also known as Blaukraut after preparation. Its leaves are colored dark red/purple. However, the plant changes its color according to the pH ...
is (or used to be) an invariable component of the Sunday dinner in many traditional Silesian families. Left-over dumplings can be reheated or fried (like potatoes) for supper and eaten with left-over gravy or butter.
See also
*
Black dumplings – a similar dish
*
Raspeball
Potetball (also known as ball, klubb, kumle, komle, kompe, raspeball) is a traditional Norwegian potato dumpling. A similar German dish is called '' Kartoffelklöße''.
The main ingredient is peeled potatoes, which are grated or ground up and ...
*
Black noodles
References
{{Dumplings
Silesian cuisine
Dumplings
Potato dishes