What are Knedle sa šljivama?
Sweet but not too sweet, Knedle sa šljivama are so divine that Croatians eat them as a main course. And we pile them on. Hot, warm, or even cold the next day, plum dumplings are the best way to celebrate fresh fruit season.
Silky, melt-in-the-mouth potato dough stuffed with juicy plums – who can resist this classic Croatian recipe? Of all Croatian desserts, plum dumplings are the least sweet. You could probably even sneak them into your reduced-calorie diet.
The only problem is that because we think of them as lean treats, we dish them out in huge portions.
Even when my Mum made them for dessert, I would skip everything else and eat only dumplings for lunch. In many Croatian houses, this practice is quite common. What's for lunch? Knedle sa šljivama.
We eat these succulent bites to rejoice in the abundance of fresh, ripe fruit. Plums are The most common filling, but you can also make them with apricots or prunes.
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Key Ingredients for Knedle sa Šljivama
The Knedle sa šljivama recept has three components. Fruit is the filling encased in the fluffy potato-based dough. Once the dumplings are cooked, they are dunked in the sumptuous mix of sugar, breadcrumbs, and butter.
List of essential ingredients (potatoes, plums, flour)
First, you need the plums. The type we use for the Knedle sa šljivama is called šljiva Bistrica, or the common prune plum. They are dark purple, relatively small, and very sweet. You’ll recognize them by their elongated shape.
The filling is straightforward, but the dough, on the other hand, requires your full attention. Mekane knedle sa šljivama (soft plum dumplings) are a winner.
And it’s not always easy to make the dough soft and silky while still compact enough to shape.
To master this balance, you need the correct type of potato. Experienced home cooks know a great potato dough requires an ‘old’ potato. Why? Because it has less water content. Once cooked, the potato needs to be dense, not mushy.
Our Mums would illustrate this in the following colloquial terms... they would say that the potato should not ‘pee itself’ - krumpir se ne smije popišati.
The dough also needs flour, an egg, and some fat to stick together. My grandma always used lard, but butter is OK, too. You’ll know if your potato has wept (peed) when you knead the dough. If you need more flour than specified in the recipe, the potato is not dense enough.
See? It’s a delicate balance. And the only thing that makes plum dumplings delectably soft.
Alternative ingredients for dietary restrictions
Here's my best advice if you want to make vegan plum dumplings. Substitute an egg with a flaxseed egg. Mix one tablespoon of ground flax seeds with three tablespoons of water. Leave it to thicken for 5 minutes.
Use coconut butter instead of lard or regular butter.
Selecting the Best Plums
Šljiva bistrica (prunus domestica) is our go-to plum for cooking. It makes the best jam, the best rakija and the best dumplings. Let’s see why.
What type of plums work best for Knedle od Šljiva
Common prune plum is not only sweet enough as a standalone filling, but it’s also perfectly compact. Just like the best type of potato, it won’t ‘pee’ (weep) inside the dumpling.
There is another familiar dark purple, oval-shaped plum in Croatia. It’s called Stanley prune plum. You don’t want that one, my grandma would say. It’s too watery and not sweet enough.
What other types of plums you DON'T want for this recipe... Any round plum or a plum that is not dark purple.
Stick with šljiva Bistrica and you can’t go wrong. In fact, you can make Knedle sa šljivama even with frozen plums. Or with prunes.
How to prepare and pit the plums
Domestic prune plums are very easy to pit. You just need to squeeze them lengthwise, and they will open in two. The pit (stone) comes out on its own.
When you pit the plums for this recipe, don’t halve the plums. Squeeze them enough so you can reach the stone and remove it. Then, close them back together.
Some people with a sweet tooth pop a small sugar cube in place of the stone. The sugar melts as the dumplings cook, making the filling runnier and sweeter.
I skip this step. Knedle sa šljivama have this wonderful sweet and sour combination which I don’t want to spoil. The topping is sweet and crunchy, so I welcome a bit of tartness from the inside.
Tips & Tricks
Now that you have all the right ingredients, it’s time to perfect the shaping technique.
How to properly fill the dough with plums
A plum dumpling begins and ends as a ball. Here’s the sequence to follow when you shape and fill them.
First, you make a dough ball that fits inside your cupped hands. Next, you flatten it into a disk that fits on the palm of your hand. Place the plum in the middle and pinch the dough around it until it’s wrapped inside.
Roll the dumpling between the palms of your hands again. You want it to look nice and even.
Best practices for boiling Knedle without them falling apart
You’ll need a wide saucepan to boil your dumplings. The Knedle shouldn’t touch each other, so boil them in batches.
Also, use a strainer ladle to dunk them into the water and to fish them out. This is the safest way to keep them from crumbling.
Serving Suggestions
It’s not just the dumplings that win you over. The crunchy, buttery sugar coating might be why we swoon over them so much.
This recipe gives you a healthy amount of the topping; it’s satisfying but with your waistline in mind. You can always double it, which is what many people do. They pile so much caramelized sugar on their dumplings that it’s the only thing they eat.
Here’s another way to serve your Knedle. Keep the topping reasonable, but have a dollop of sour cream on the side. Mm... Knedle sa šljivama i vrhnjem... this is my husband's language.
Step By Step Guide For Making Homemade Plum Dumplings
Plum Dumplings - Knedle sa Šljivama
Ingredients
Potato dough:
- 500 g boiled and mashed potato
- 1 whole egg
- 50 g lard (or softened butter)
- 230 g all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 10 plums (or prunes or apricots)
Topping:
- 60 g butter
- 30 g sugar
- 50 g breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp vanilla-flavoured sugar (optional)
Instructions
Making the dumplings dough:
- Begin by boiling the potato with the skin on. You need more than 500 g because you'll be weighing it when it’s cooked and peeled. Cook the potato about 5 minutes longer than usual.
- Set the cooked potatoes aside to cool, then peel and mash them. The easiest and most proper way is to run potatoes through a ricer. But if you don't have one (like I don't), you can grate it!
- You may end up with small lumps of potato in the dough but this is no big deal. This is why I slightly overcook it so it's easier to break up the lumps as I knead.
- Add flour, lard, egg and a pinch of salt. Of course, you can substitute lard with butter but my grandmother always stuck to lard.
- Gently combine all the ingredients with your hand. At one point, the dough will come together and won't stick to the bowl.
- Don't over-knead the dough because the more you work it, the more moisture the potatoes release. Then you need extra flour, which only makes the dumplings hard and chewy.
Shaping the dumplings:
- Transfer the dough to the kitchen surface. You can use a bit more flour to shape it into a log. Divide it into 10 pieces.
- Form each piece into a ball. Flatten it on the palm of your hand and place a pitted plum in the middle.
- People who like plum dumplings sweeter usually remove the stone and put a sugar cube in its place. I leave the plums empty. The topping has sugar and that's sweet enough for me.
- Spread the dough around the plum making sure you get a dumpling of an even, round shape.
- Dumplings are a summer dessert, but I like them so much that I usually freeze some fresh plums. They're just as good. You can also make dumplings with apricots or prunes.
Cooking the dumplings:
- Boil some water in a large saucepan. Add another pinch of salt and a tablespoon of oil. Dunk the dumplings inside.
- After a few minutes they'll surface out but you need to cook them for at least 10-12 minutes. Then use a cake tester as you would with a sponge cake. If it comes out clean, your dumplings are done.
Making the sugar topping:
- For the topping, melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the breadcrumbs, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla-flavoured sugar (optional). Stir to combine and simmer for a few minutes, until you notice the mixture is turning darker.
- Coat the dumplings with this delicious topping and serve hot or warm. You can add a dollop of sour cream or Greek yoghurt on the side.
- Dumplings will keep in the fridge for one day. They are one of my favourite breakfasts – if there’s any left from the day before!
