Category Archives: Noodles and Dumplings

There’s something about noodles and dumplings… swimming in sauces and gravies… that is irresistible.

Noodles and Dumplings

Homemade cut noodles

Grandma used to make her own noodles. We’d come into her house at holiday time and, amongst the containers of fragrant hoska, beigli,  and miscellaneous cookies she had ready for us, there’d often be a tray of hand-cut noodles sprinkled with flour. We knew they were being readies for some of our favorite dishes, like Cabbage Noodles or Cottage Cheese Noodles (no Italian-style pasta for us back then!)

cut noodles

Ingredients for homemade hand-cut noodles

  • 6 cups flour
  • 2 large eggs
  • salt
  • water

Mix flour, salt, and eggs. Add enough water to hold dough together without it being sticky. Cover and let rest for a while. Roll thin and let dry. Cut in strips and flour. (Very good for cabbage noodles)

Noodles and Dumplings

Hungarian Liver Dumplings

Májgombóc

Recipe from Az Ìnyesmester Szakácskônyve (The Expert’s Cookbook)

  • 6 oz veal, pork, or chicken livers
  • 1 T chopped onion
  • 1 T chopped parsley
  • Lard for cooking
  • 1/2 to 1 bread roll
  • 1 egg
  • breadcrumbs

Finely chop the liver and run through. Add onion and parsley. Saute in lard. Add ½ – 1 bread roll, softened in milk. Add 1 egg and a few more crumbs if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Cook in water or broth.

Noodles and Dumplings

Pirogy

Pierogi, also known as Verenyki

Pierogies are a type of dumpling stuffed with cottage cheese and served with heaps of fried onions and sour cream.

Pierogies evoke in me a mild love/hate response. They were definitely part of our childhood gastronomical experience, and while I didn’t find them terribly exciting (rather greasy with the fried onions, actually), they seemed to provoke fierce enthusiasm in the rest of the family. How could I go against that flow?

So, for you Pierogy lovers everywhere, here is the recipe:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1 egg
  • Water
  • 1/2 lb cottage cheese (can be mixed with coarsely-mashed potatoes)
  • 2 T sour cream
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/4 t salt
  • Fried onions and extra sour cream (optional)

For the dumpling envelopes:

Sift flour and salt into bowl; make a depression in center and drop in egg. Moisten with water to make stiff dough. Knead until smooth. Cover and let stand 30 minutes. Divide dough in half and roll to 1/8″ thick. Cut into 2-1/2 to 3″ circles.

For the filling:

Mash cottage cheese (and mashed potatoes if using)  with 2 T sour cream, eggs and salt. Mix well.

Preparation:

Place 1 heaping teaspoonful of cheese on lower half of circle; moisten edge of top half with water and fold. Press edges together.

Drop into a large kettle of boiling water. Cook for 5-7 minutes, counted after water returns to boiling.

Serve with fried onions and sour cream. Some people like to brown the drained pierogies with the fried onions in a pan before serving.

Noodles and Dumplings

Knedliky

Raised dumplings

  • 1/2 cups lukewarm water
  • 2 T yeast
  • 1 t sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
  • 1 1/2 t salt
  • 7 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup water with sugar. Beat eggs, butter and 1 1/2 cups warm water. Add salt flour to form a dough thicker than bread dough. Knead and let rise, covered and in a warm place, until doubled. Punch down, knead and roll into dumplings the size of a small ladle. Cover and let rise 1 hour. Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to brisk boil. Throw two or three dumplings at a time and boil 4 minutes. Turn and boil another 4 minutes. Remove and cut in half with string.