Mum's Polish kitchen - Steamed dumplings

Mum's Polish kitchen - Steamed dumplings - Kluski na parze

Stan Krawczyk • 2 October 2020

Mum's Polish Kitchen - Steamed dumplings -kluski na parze.

Mum's version of a Polish classic, steamed dumplings. A very nice substitute for potatoes or pasta even.

I had to work hard to investigate this one, all I had were quickly written notes on my phone from 6 years ago with lots of blanks however they turned out just how I remember them.

This one reminds me of the days the kitchen was filled with steam and lovely aroma of Vanilla. It probably contributed to the plaster cracking in the kitchen years later but that is another story.

Most Polish cooking is a faff and takes a fair bit of effort, its not difficult just a lot of preparation and messing such as peeling, chopping so its not worth making just a small amount for 1 person.

All mums portion sizes are suitable for a family of 3 or 4 people and will last 3 to 4 days without going off. They are quite filling, healthy and wholesome you wont leave hungry trust me.

Please ensure you buy good ingredients don't skimp, no value stuff here please!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of dried yeast (or fresh is better 3 oz) I use Fermipan

3/4 cup of warmed milk

4.5 Cups of strong bread flour ideally (its tough but soft just like me)

6 whole eggs , this is my toned down version mum had 12!!

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract/essence

60 grams of butter

4 packets of Vanilla sugar they are 8g each plus 1.5 tablespoon of caster sugar

Method:

Before we begin get yourself a large pan, a tea towel or similar and 2 elastic bands large enough to go around the pan.

Fill the pan around 3/4 full with water.

Fold the tea towel in such a way it sits on the top of the open pan and no drooping material on the cooker itself (incidentally mine is an electric hob - goodness knows what you will do with gas, maybe use a colander inside the pan with material on that, not sure?) Wrap the elastic bands around the outer edge of the pan then switch it on and wait for it to boil and steam. Do not let the material fall on the cooker and singe like I did! End of tea towel number 1.

You also will need a plastic mixing bowl or anything that can be placed upside down on top of the pan and contain the steam.

Once that is getting to temperature, take the butter, place in a small pan and melt it, place to one side.

In another small pan warm up the milk then leave to cool a little.

In a large mixing bowl put in the flour, vanilla sugar and stir it well, leave.

Break the 6 eggs into a cup and mix them up.

In yet another smaller mixing bowl (I actually did the lot of this in 2 bowls but trying to be professional here!) place the yeast in, add about 1/5 cup of the flower mixture from the big mixing bowl, add 1.5 tablespoons of sugar and then milk and the butter. Mix them up well and leave to one side for about 10 minutes or so until you see it bubbling that means the yeast is having a nice feed.

Now add the yeast mix (should still be warm) to the flour , eggs, vanilla essence and carefully mix it all in until you start to get a nice dough. It should be slightly soggy but no so much it sticks to your fingers. Add flour to dry it out a bit or milk to wet it more. Either way begin to knead it in the bowl until all the bits are picked up from the sides.

Flour a board then knead it on there for a few mins. No need to go mad you are not making bread here and there is no proving phase either.

Once you are happy with the dough cut it up into 2 large pieces and then roll each one out as a fat sausage until you can cut 6 pieces from each (total 12).

Roll each cut into a ball about the size of 2-3 inches in diameter, but you can do what you like? Bigger or smaller up to you experiment. None of mine were identical in size, I am not opening up a Michelin star restaurant.

Lightly flour a tray or board and place them on there spaced a few inches and leave to rise for about 30 mins or so. They will double in size and have nice rounded off smooth skin.

By this time the steam should be rising from your pan.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be careful with the steam I burnt my fingers a few times even though I was being careful.

Check the water level don't let it boil dry. I found after number 6 is removed pour some boiling water from the kettle onto the tea towel so it tops up the water in the pan then carry on.

Take your first roll and carefully lift it (use a spatula underneath) and place it gently onto the steaming towel then quickly place the upside down mixing bowl on the top. Ensure it is not a tight fit you need the steam to escape.

Time it for 9 mins shouldn't need more than 10 but use a wooden dowel/chop stick to check, stab it and if it comes out clear its done.

Don't be tempted to keep checking it trust me it will be fine. Don't drop it on the towel as it deflates. If they do look a bit flat don't worry the steam will re-energise them and up they go again.

When the timer pings carefully remove the top bowl, use a spatula again and lift it off the towel (using a towel with your other hand so you don't burn yourself) place on a cooling rack and onto the next one.

If you have smallish sized ones you can fit 2 at a time or more if you have a huge pan.

Repeat for the rest, ensure you let them cool but they are nicest when they are still a little warm.

That's it simple eh? Maybe you can use a Chinese type bamboo steamer instead but they tend to be small.

Serve:

Mum used to serve these instead of potatoes, so beef with a mushroom or horseradish sauce and sauerkraut or veg.

You can just eat them neat or if you were having a pasta dish with a meat based sauce they also go well.

They can be cut and toasted like a brioche and I suppose like a brioche you can use them as burger buns.

They are slightly sweet which goes well with salty food combinations. They are not heavy like suet dumplings.

After they are cool store them in an airtight container. After about 2 days they might get a bit dry to warm them up and wake them up again steam them for 2 mins again. I have never frozen them before however I expect they will be fine.

There you go Mrs Krawczyk's kluski na parze ...................simpleski.

Smacznego Bon appetite Champion Lad!

More recipes to come keep an eye and nose out for them.