Szilvás gombóc / Zwetschkenknödel

 

' Mincare lasata de D-zeu pe pamint '...cam asa zicea frate-meu despre bombele astea umplute cu prune. Nu ca nu i-as da dreptate. Asa cum vinetele pentru mine inseamna aproape o perfectiune de vegetala, cred ca tot asa, pentru el, gombotii cu prune pot fi categorisiti ca un suprem al gustului.

Reteta apartinind bucatarie austro-ungare, cu nume si radacini seculare,  Zwetschkenknödel or  Gombotzen, avind azi haine noi, gombotii cu prune se lafaie regeste pe masa ardeleanului acum in prag de toamna brumarie. Si, ce sa ne mai ascundem dupa deget...care dintre noi nu-si aminteste acel blid, plin ochi cu gomboti, pe care mama sau bunica ni l-a virit sub nas cu miscari simple, aproape ritualice ?
Reteta pe care am facut-o e simpla prin simplitatea ingredientelor dar, care cere ceva mai mult timp de pregatire. Merita, nu de alta, efortul. Am gasit pe cararile virtuale si drepte ale netului reteta clasica a galustelor cu prune, reteta pe care am considerat-o din prima a fi perfecta si...asa a si fost. N-are rost sa rescriu acum reteta atita timp cit o gasiti mai jos, in engleza.
Din resturile de aluat se fac nudlii (bastonase) care se fierb la fel ca si galustele si urmeaza aceeasi cale de desfatare a ochiului in acel pesmet prajit si indulcit.
Va las sa incercati, sa vedeti cum va iese si sa va decideti daca merita s-o treceti la capitolul favorite. 

Plum dumplings

This is a traditional dessert recipe from Hungary but, well known in Austria too, large sweet dumplings or plum dumplings called Zwetschkenknödel or Gombotzen are made with flour and potato batter, by wrapping the potato dough around whole plums or apricots, boiled and rolled in hot buttered caramelized bread crumbs (streusel).Topfenknödel are made with quark cheese (Topfen), (Hungarian turósgombóc), traditionally topped with cinnamon sugar and served with apple sauce or withstreusel.

(from Wiki cookbook)

Ingredients:
2 pounds peeled potatoes (about 900 gr)
1 egg
a pinch of salt
3 tablespoons of oil
plain flour
fresh plums, plum jam or plum compote

Procedure :
Cook two pounds of potatoes until very soft (at least an hour). Peel and mash with a fork. Add an egg to the mixture, a little salt, three tablespoons of oil and enough flour to make it smooth and sticky.
This is the best you can get by way of recipes from my granny, I think she means about six or seven tablespoons, and add them one by one.
Knead the potato dough and then roll it out into a thin sheet (about five millimeters thick), and cut into squares. Put half a plum or a teaspoon of plum jam on each square (also works with apricots, in which case the dumplings will be called "barackos gombóc" or "Baratzkosh Gombotz"). Wrap the dough around the filling and seal the edges. Cook in boiling water for ten to fifteen minutes ( ..or until the dumplings are up on the surface of water; it's enough that ; Mala's note)
Serve with bread crumbs fried in butter or oil.

Mala's note: I just sprinkle whole plums(without kernels) with sugar and fresh grounded cinnamon before wrapping them in dough. 

Bread crumbs I use is always mixed with sugar and vanilla .

From the remained dough you can make noodles(small sticks as fingers) , boiled then in the same manner as dumplings are and rolled them then in bread crumbs. These noodles, called nudlii are extremely tasty and delicious.

Enjoy it !

Memories from blog : Plum, basil & honey