Potato Dumplings with Kale

Potato Dumplings with Kale

Buoyant pillows of deliciousness

While this style of dumpling are quintessentially Italian, most cuisines around the world have a similar variant, but gnocchi is the top paid celebrity. Starchy tuber, egg and flour come together in a soft, pliable, but moist dough that is endlessly versatile, effortlessly carrying flavour.

A whole host of tubers lend themselves to dumplings, not just the popular floury potatoes such as a russet. Sweet potatoes, squash, Jerusalem artichokes and many varieties of potato, waxy and floury alike. The key is to balance water content with fat from the egg and flour. Out of ratio and the dumpling will fall apart in the water of sink like a stone, never to rise again. 

This recipe is a great place to practice and learn how the dough feels with any given result. To further this experiment with just an egg yolk, adding a little less flour. Alternatively omitting the egg all together with a squash puree. 


Serves 4
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
1kg potatoes
1 whole egg
300g ‘00’ flour
Sea salt flakes
Rapeseed oil
A thumb of butter
2 cloves sliced garlic
180g Red Russian kale
Flat leaf parsley
Fresh ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 180°C

1. Roasting the potatoes in a hot oven helps keep the moisture to a minimum and intensifies the flavour. Dress with a little rapeseed oil and salt then roast in the preheated oven. The time will vary depending on the size of potatoes, but as soon as they are tender when poked with a fork, remove from the oven and leave until cool enough to handle. 

2. Half the potatoes and scoop out the flesh. Mash with a fork or potato ricer directly onto the worksurface. Sprinkle the skins with any seasoning and crispen up in the oven for a little snack. Using a fork or fingers, work the egg into the potato with a three finger pinch of salt. Add half the flour and begin to work into a dough. Continue adding flour until the potato and egg forms a soft pliable dough that is not sticky. 

3. Divide the dough into 4 and roll into lengths as thick as your thumb. Cut into short lengths and mark with the back of a fork. Lightly dust with flour and leave to rest.

4. Bring a large saucepan with a lid to the boil and prep the vegetables. 

5. Heat the butter and a little puddle of oil in a frying pan and once the butter begins to foam gently toast the garlic. A light golden colour gives a delicious sweet nutty flavour. 

6. Meanwhile strip the kale from its stem and tear into bitesize chunks. 

7. The water should be boiling by this stage. Remove the lid and cook the dumplings for a minute or two. They will rise to the surface once cooked. 

8. While they are cooking add the kale to the pan and gently cook. As soon as the dumplings rise to the surface, scoop them out with a slotted spoon straight into the pan with the kale and turn the heat to maximum. Lightly fry and coat with the butter. Season with picked parsley, pepper and nutmeg to taste. 
Serve with your favourite hard cheese and a drizzle of walnut oil.
Chef Notes:
1. These dumplings carry flavour superbly! Season with any dry spice such as nutmeg, cardamom, chilli flakes, dried herbs, paprika, turmeric… let you imagination run wild. 
2. Pair the seasoning with the sauce to elevate the whole experience, but keep the sauce simple.
3. The dumplings benefit from being undercooked in the boiling water, then finished off by frying in the pan with a sauce. This firms up the texture while allowing all the flavours to mingle.

Robin Popham
Chef at ‘Create Terroir’ and Sandy Lane Farm veg box customer