Recipe - Moms Potato Dumplings (Revised)

6 lg Russet or red potatoes;
about 3 One half to 4 pounds
2 Extralarge eggs
1 teaspoon Salt
2 cup Allpurpose flour

Here’s my revised version of my mother’s recipe for potato dumplings with
her tricks that I didn’t write down when she gave me the basic recipe:

Source: Roberta Brisson

Peel and cut each potato into eight pieces (The Czech cookbooks I have
seen, all cook the potatoes in the skin. I guess my mom didn’t learn it
this way from her motherinlaw.) Cook in boiling water. When done, drain
water off and mash potatoes. However, if you cooked them with the skins on,
let the potatoes cool, peel and rice them. Let the potatoes get cold (my
feeling is the cooler the better). This is a very important step, because
if you don’t you will need to add more flour and adding more flour will
make the dumplings become sinkers! (However, if potatoes are very moist,
more flour will be needed.) Gather the mashed potatoes into a mound and
form a well in the center. Beat the egg with the salt. Pour into the well
in the center of the mashed potatoes. Work the potatoes and eggs together
with your hands, gradually adding 3 cups of flour. Knead together until a
smooth dough is achieved. Knead in additional flour as necessary until the
dough is no longer sticky. Keep your hands and the work surface dusted with
flour the whole time. Cut the dough into 3 equal parts. Continue to dust
dough, hands, and work surface as long as the dough feels sticky. Roll each
portion into a long loaf. Cut into equal parts, about 1 One half to 2inches in
width. Roll each dumpling into an elongated shape and place on dusted
board, and cover with a flour sack towel. Repeat this step until all the
dumplings are made. Cook in boiling salted water for about 15 minutes.
Gently stir the dumplings in the pot, so they don’t stick to the bottom of
the pan. Take one out and cut in half to see if done, by slicing in half.
(Remember, what my mother said, "If it is soft and mushy in the center,
they’re not done. Let them cook longer. Dumplings should have a dry look
with holes when they are done.") If not, cook an additional 5 minutes and
check to see if done. If there were any leftover dumplings, she would fry
them up in butter and serve as a side dish.

Now, if this has you discouraged, I’ll giving you my cousins’ recipe for NO
FAIL BREAD DUMPLINGS, Recipe #2

Posted to recipeludigest Volume 01 Number 634 by QueenBerta@aol.com on Jan
29, 1998