LITTLE POTATO DUMPLINGS WITH SPINACH CREAM from Anja Dunk’s Strudel, Noodles and Dumplings.
Creamed spinach is a traditional vegetable accompaniment in Germany and is often eaten with buttery mashed potato and a fried egg- this is, I suppose, potatoes, eggs and spinach made a different way. The flour and egg bind the dumplings together in this recipe, so it doesn’t matter which potatoes are used.
SERVES 4
FOR THE POTATO DUMPLINGS
SOOg cold cooked potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes -these can be baked or boiled)
150g plain flour, plus extra for dusting 2 egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
TO FRY
40g unsalted butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
FOR THE SPINACH AND PARMESAN CREAM
250ml double cream
200g frozen spinach, thawed and chopped
80g Parmesan, finely grated, plus shavings to serve
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
freshly grated nutmeg, to serve
If using baked potatoes, cut them in half and spoon the soft flesh into a large bowl (keep the skins to bake into crisps). Mash the potatoes until smooth – you can pass them through a potato
ricer, but a fork and a bit of patience will do. Add the flour, egg yolks and a little sea salt, then bring the mixture together with your hands to form a soft dough. The boys tell me it feels like play-dough at this stage.
Dust a large baking tray with flour, ready to place the dumplings on. Now divide the dough into three and on a flour-dusted work surface roll each chunk into sausage shapes about tern in
diameter. Cut each sausage shape into 2cm chunks and place them on the prepared tray. Set aside.
Bring a large pan of water and 1 teaspoon salt to a rolling boil. Drop the dumplings into the boiling water; once they rise to the surface (after 2-3 minutes), they are ready. Drain them
through a sieve.
While the dumplings are boiling, put the butter and oil into a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Once the butter is foaming, tip the drained dumplings into the pan and fry,
turning occasionally, until golden brown and crisp on all sides.
Put the double cream and spinach into a saucepan and bring just up to the boil over a medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Once the cream comes to the boil, turn the heat down, add the Parmesan and cook for a further minute, stirring continuously. Thrn off the heat and season with pepper.
Divide the cream between four dishes, place the dumplings on top and add a few shavings of Parmesan and a grating of nutmeg.
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