Hungarian Plum Dumplings-Szilvás Gombóc

Just can't compare this delicacy to any other type of dumpling The Hungarian plum dumplings, otherwise known as the Szilvas Gomboc. The only difference with these is the type of plums you use which would be in the prunus family, the smaller version, different shape, and more dark purple in color. They all are juicy and sweet in their season.

When I was growing up in Ohio, my mother, "may she rest in peace" made all these delicacies for us, never letting any of us help her, just to watch, and learn. Of course, little did we learn, we were always too eager to eat as soon as it was done. The kitchen always filled with the aroma of her wonderful cooking. She was an expert in fresh noodle making, and of course with all the fresh dough that she made magical things with, especially the yeast dough, what we call danish, filled with various fruit fillings. You could not even find these in a specialty bakery. It has to be home made, filled with love. When my children were little, here in South Florida, we were fortunate to have my "Mariska Neni"-Aunt Mariska, to make all the delicacies for us. She too let me watch, but never made it by myself, these ladies of Independence in the kitchen just did everything by themselves, and you were the audience, and "taste tester" and got to eat all the goodies. Wow, those were the good old days, it brings tears to my eyes, every time I think of it. I've attempted to make the dumplings, of course, years later, and still need to perfect it.

 Do not be fooled with the 20 minute preparation as some recipes call for it. Plan to have a messy counter, or board to work on, because you will literally need a bag of flour at your side to keep flouring the board, so you don't end up with a sticky dough that you have to scrape off the working area, you also don't want to put too much flour in your dough, otherwise you will end up with a heavy lump of dough that could be disastrous, and ending up with a chipped tooth, and a trip to the dentist. As for me, I did not want an audience, dealed with my own mess, taste tested by myself, and showed off the finish product, which really did turn out nice, with the right amount of ingredients to work with, and a nice finished portion of fresh plum dumplings.

Hungarian Plum Dumpling-Szilvás Gombóc

2 1/2 small Italian plums, or about 12 plums (see photo below)
4 or 5 large potatoes, or 8 small ones
4 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
Buttered bread crumbs, and oats (opt.) with cinnamon and sugar

Quarter large potatoes, or halve the small ones, cook them in their skin for better flavor, then peel them after they are cooked. Mash, with a potato masher. In a large bowl place flour, salt, and  mashed potato, make a dent in the  middle and add the egg. Mix with your hands real well, if it's a little dry, add about 1/4 cup of flour, a drop at a time, to make a pliable dough. Place dough on floured work surface, divide dough in half, wrap the second half of dough and put aside. Work with the first half, by rolling it, adding by sprinkling flour on top, so you can roll dough easier, to 1/2 in. Cut into 4 inch square portions, they don't have to be perfectly even squares at the end portions. Place 1 piece of fruit, if they are really thinly sliced, place 2 in the middle, fold up at the end corners, and roll, as if you are rolling a meatball, wetting your hands if necessary, and rolling the ball into a little more flour.

Drop the balls, one at a time into rapid salty boiling water, and wait until they come to surface after about a few minutes, probably 10 minutes, cook a few minutes, total time, about 12-15 minutes. You can taste test by scooping it out with a large slotted spoon, and cut into the middle. This way you will know that it is done, or it may need a few more minutes. Do not drain the dumplings into a colander, they might fall apart. Carefully take them out one by one, and place them into a skillet with about 2 cups of bread crumbs, 1 cup of oats (opt.), and about 2 tablespoons of sugar, a dash of cinnamon, but first and foremost, don't forget to melt, about half a stick of butter and then add the crumbs, and the sugar. Make sure you incorporate every piece of dumpling with the bread crumbs. Serve with additional cinnamon sugar, if desired. Yields about 12 dumplings, 6 servings.
 
Note: seriously, they turned out better than I imagined, and a lot easier with careful preparation. After all those years of observing, this is about the third time I made this by myself. Less intimidating, if you only make half the portion of the dough, and save the other half for another use. Dough freezes well, but do not keep it in the freezer for more than 30 days.



You can see the little lumps from the cooked potato, which is OK  Roll dough half an inch thick.



Cut, and slice plums  sprinkle a little sugar and cinnamon on them.

Cut into 4 inch squares, and place 1 piece of fruit in middle, fold corners over, and roll dough into a ball, enclosing corners.

You can see when they're ready, they will come to surface, but still cook them longer, and remove with slotted spoon.

Have skillet ready with breadcrumbs, oats. (opt.) sugar, and cinnamon, and melted butter. Heat thoroughly, and coat each dumpling

finished result. Really just amount of sweetness, dough really moist and flavorful

Extra fruit left over, and second portion of dough to be used for gnocchi, or freeze for next use.