Recipe
This strawberry dumplings recipe will make you smile
Pillowy dumplings hiding juicy strawberries, buttery drizzle and jammy sauce – this beloved Czech classic is comfort food at its sweetest.
By Jahodové knedlíky
This is my favourite Czech dish, and I do not say that lightly. These dumplings are a delicious reminder that some of the best things in life come wrapped in dough. Here, juicy strawberries are encased in a soft dumpling dough, then served drizzled with melted butter and dusted with icing sugar on a bed of jammy berry sauce.
My mouth is literally watering. A unique attribute of Central European cuisine is the concept of a sweet main course. Although I am featuring these fruit dumplings as a dessert here, they would typically be served as the main dish in a Czech household or pub, particularly for children or those who are still young at heart. Tvaroh is a Czech curd cheese, similar to cottage cheese.
Serves 4
Ingredients to make strawberry dumplings recipe
350g (12oz) cottage cheese or soft tvaroh (‘měkký’)
1 large egg, plus 1 yolk
200g (7oz) semola flour or fine semolina, plus extra for rolling
12 strawberries, hulled
For the strawberry sauce
250g (9oz) strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped
50g (1¾oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar
To serve
80g (2¾oz) hard tvaroh (‘tvrdý’), crumbled (optional)
80g (2¾oz) unsalted butter, melted
100g (3½oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar
How to make strawberry dumplings recipe
Press the cottage cheese or soft tvaroh through a sieve into a large bowl to purée it and remove any lumps. Add the egg and extra yolk and mix, then stir in the semolina flour and mix again until fully combined.
Divide the dough into 12 equal-sized pieces and roll each piece into a little ball. Dust your hands with some semolina flour. Take one of the dough balls and flatten it in the palm of your hand, then place a hulled strawberry in the centre. Bring the dough together around the sides of the strawberry and roll into a ball to completely encase the strawberry.
If you have a hole, don’t worry – you can just patch it up, as the dough is very forgiving. Place on a plate dusted with more semola our to avoid sticking. Repeat with the remaining doughballs.
Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Carefully lower the dumplings into the pan and boil for 7–9 minutes (depending on the size of your strawberries), then drain. Meanwhile, make the strawberry sauce by combining the chopped strawberries and icing sugar in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Cook for a couple of minutes until the strawberries begin to break down slightly (this will take 2–3 minutes longer if the strawberries are less ripe).
Keep warm until you’re ready to serve. To serve, divide the strawberry sauce between four bowls, then place three dumplings in each one.
Citro food tip
Top with crumbled hard tvaroh, if using, then drizzle the melted butter on top and finish with dusting of icing sugar. These dumplings can be filled with different fruit in different seasons – blueberries, plums and apricots are all delicious inside dough.
This is an edited extract from My Bohemian Kitchen by Evie Harbury, photography by Ola O. Smit. Murdoch Books RRP $39.99.
Citro may receive a small commission at no cost to you on any orders placed using the book link in this article.
You might also like: