Serbian Plum Dumplings

From Old Farmer's Almanac Contests

Potatoes Recipes

Yield: 14 dumplings.

• 1-1/2 pounds potatoes (about 5 medium potatoes)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (approximately) flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 14 small purple plums
• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1/4 cup toasted bread crumbs

Peel potatoes and cut into quarters. Boil until tender. Cool, then mash until smooth. Add eggs and salt; mix well. Work enough flour into potato mixture to make a smooth, firm dough. In a separate bowl mix sugar and cinnamon. Pit plums and fill each cavity with 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon-and-sugar mixture.

Take a piece of dough and pat it into a round cake 2-1/2 inches wide and about 1/4 inch thick. Put one sugared plum in it, fold the dough over the plum, and pinch edges to seal, making a round dumpling. Repeat with the remaining plums and dough.

Drop dumplings one at a time into a large pot of boiling salted water, until water returns to the boil with all dumplings in the pot. Boil gently for 5 minutes, then turn down heat and simmer for about 15 minutes longer. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and place in serving bowl. Drizzle with melted butter, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and serve hot.

Comments

When my grandmother left Serbia in the early 1920s, she brought very little with her to the United States. One thing she brought was her recipe for plum dumplings. Handed down for generations, this is an heirloom our family can enjoy as often as we like without diminishing its value.

(Editor's Note: If fresh plums are not available, canned ones may be used if well drained and blotted dry. Dumplings also may be shaped into half-circles and may be prepared ahead, then reheated in hot water or the microwave oven.)

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