Kletski

Ingredients

Potato dumplings

• 1 kgfloury potatoes
• 1onion, grated
• 100 gplain flour
• 1egg
• 1 tspsalt
• black pepper

Flour dumplings

• 300 gplain flour
• 2eggs
• 150 mlmilk
• 1/2 tspsalt

Filling, for kletski with souls

• 200 gpork belly or salo, diced small
• 1onion, finely chopped
• salt and pepper

To cook

• 2 litresbroth, or salted water
• or 1.5 litres milk, for the milk version

To serve

• smetana or sour cream
• fried onion and crackling
• chopped dill

Directions

1. Use floury potatoes rather than waxy ones. Peel them and grate them finely into a bowl of cold water. The cold water stops them browning while you work. Tip the grated potato into a cloth and gather it up. Squeeze it as hard as you possibly can over a bowl.
2. Keep squeezing until almost no liquid comes out. Wet potato will not hold together and the dumplings will disintegrate. Let the squeezed liquid stand for ten minutes. Pour the water off carefully and keep the starch. It is what binds the dumplings and it would otherwise be thrown away.
3. Add the grated onion, flour, egg, salt and pepper. Mix it thoroughly with a spoon. Work fast, since grated potato greys as it stands. It should hold together when squeezed in the hand.
4. Add another spoonful of flour if it is too loose. Put the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well. Beat in the eggs and then the milk gradually. Mix it into a thick sticky batter or a soft dough. Let it rest for twenty minutes before shaping. Fry the diced pork belly until the fat renders and it crisps.
5. Add the chopped onion and cook until soft and golden. Season it and let it cool completely before use. Warm filling makes the dough go soft and split. Now shaping, which is done with wet hands.
6. Take a heaped tablespoon of dough into your palm. Flatten it slightly and put a little filling in the centre. Bring the dough up around the filling and close it. Roll it into a ball between wet palms. The filling must be fully enclosed or it will escape.
7. Set the finished dumplings on a floured tray. Now cooking them, which is done gently. Bring the broth, water or milk to a simmer. It must not boil hard, since that breaks the dumplings apart.
8. Simmer them for about ten minutes after they float. Potato dumplings take slightly longer than flour ones. Lift one out and cut it in half. The dough should be cooked through with no raw centre. Spoon smetana over them in every case. Scatter crackling and chopped dill over the top. Serve them very hot, since they go heavy as they cool.

Technique

• Squeeze the grated potato as dry as you can, or the dumplings disintegrate.
• Let the squeezed liquid settle and return the starch to the dough; it is the binder.
• Simmer gently, since a hard boil breaks them apart.

Substitutions

• Bacon in place of salo for the filling.
• Broth, milk or salted water, all of which are traditional.

Variations

• Kletski with souls, filled with pork and onion.
• Boiled in milk and served with butter.
• Plain flour kletski dropped into soup.

History

Dumplings of flour or grated potato boiled in soup or milk, sometimes hiding a meat or crackling centre.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kletski?

Kletski is a main from Belarus: flour or potato dumplings in broth or with smetana. Dumplings of flour or grated potato boiled in soup or milk, sometimes hiding a meat or crackling centre.

How long does Kletski take to make?

Kletski takes 40 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kletski?

Yes, within limits. Bacon in place of salo for the filling. Broth, milk or salted water, all of which are traditional.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kletski?

Use floury potatoes rather than waxy ones. Peel them and grate them finely into a bowl of cold water. The cold water stops them browning while you work. Tip the grated potato into a cloth and gather it up. Squeeze it as hard as you possibly can over a bowl.