Silesian dumplings

When you've had your fill of burgers, pizza, quiche, curry and kebabs, try these:
WHITE (SILESIAN) DUMPLINGS (białe kluski [śląskie]): Peel 10 medium potatoes and cook in boiling salted water until tender. Drain well, run through ricer and set aside to cool slightly. When still very warm stir in 3 handfuls of potato starch, 1 scant handful of enriched white (regular) flour and 1 t salt, Work ingredients into a uniform dough. Form walnut-size balls, flatten slightly and make indentation on one side with thumb. (That’s for the pork nuggets, drippings or gravy to fit!) If dough does not stick together well (which may happen if the potatoes have cooled too much), then work an egg white into dough before forming dumplings. Cook in large pot of boiling salted water without crowding. After they float up, reduce heat and cook another 3 min. Remove to colander with draining spoon and drain well. Serve with fried gold-brown pork fatback or bacon nuggets, pan drippings or gravy. Those not raised on these somewhat rubbery dumplings may find they take some getting used to.
SILESIAN DUMPLINGS ANOTHER WAY (kluski śląski inaczej):Cook 2-1/4 lbs potatoes in jackets, peel under cold running water and run through ricer. When they have cooled as bit, stir in 2 raw egg yolks, 1/2 c potato starch, 1 T white flour and 1 t salt. Proceed as in preceding recipe.
BLACK (SILESIAN) DUMPLINGS (czarne kluski [śląskie]): Peel 3.3 lbs potatoes and cook one half in boiling salted water until tender. Meanwhile, grate the remaining raw potatoes into linen sack, twisting to extract moisture and collecting drippings. When drippings settle, pour off dirty water and add the white sediment (starch) to the grated potatoes. Drain cooked potatoes well, run through ricer and combine with grated potatoes. Add 1 t salt and work mixture well into a uniform dough. Form walnut-size balls, flatten slightly and make indentation on one side with thumb. Cook and serve like white dumplings. At Sunday dinner in Silesia it is not uncommon to serve separate platters of both white and black dumpling to accompany the steak roll-ups (roladki), roast goose, pork or whatever.

Silesian dumplings are fantastic. Also if you don't eat them on the day, keep them in the fridge and fry them up like potatoes the next day. Fantastic.

Also you can put a filling in the middle but I'm buggered if I know how they do it.

Hell yeah!! These things are versatile and have a gooey texture which I like (no jokes please). They are the perfect accompaniment to rolada and modro kapusta. Modro kapusta is Silesian for red cabbage. I think it's modro.

Yep. I see Seanus that godosz jak prowdziwy Hanys. :)

Godom jak istny Hanys, tak

what's ricer?

aren't these also called PYZY?

is that a garlic press?

Not unlike a garlic press, but the thing is about 4" wide. Squishes your potato through the holes, and they come out like "rice". And yes, I have used it (assisting in the kopytka making process).

interesting. never have i seen this tool. hmm

Where did you get that? Would Crate & Barrel have it? It sounds like a good kitchen tool.

Probably. Any good kitchen gadget store would likely carry it.

Crate and Barrel might. Ikea might (they do at some stores back in the States, but not sure if in Poland they would).

Williams Sonoma would have ricers in the US, also the Martha Stewart aisle at Kmart. Target had them in the implements/knives area recently --near the avacado scoops and apple slicer/corer gadgets--and I have seen them in some Wal Marts and Bed, Bath and Beyond stores, too. Amazon.com in the US has amazing stuff with free shipping and they carry ricers by different companies; a frieng got an OXO brand one via Amazon.

Hehe.. We also say istny here in Wielkopolska. Well, maybe it's not exactly being said by the young generation, but still...

My grandmother would say that jezdeś rychtyg Hanys. :)

As far north as that? Then again, there are strong Germanic influences there.

Yeah, we've been part of Prusia/Germany for over a century so there certainly was a German influence here. We still love kartofel salad and golonka's. mmmm :)

Kartofel is often said here too in place of ziemniaki

We say "pyry" here, thus Greater poland is often being called "Pyrlandia" and it's inhabitants simply "pyry". And kartofelsalad is called "saładka z ziemniaków".

Pyry is sth like mashed potatoes? If so, what is standard Polish for this?

No, pyra is just a potatoe. Mashed potatoes came here from france, thus they are called here "puree" or "duszone ziemniaki". (in Greater Poland "duszone pyry" :) )

Aha, I c :)