Recipe of the week: Zuza Zak’s Tatras-style lazy dumplings

Soft, salty and buttery, these dumplings – a speciality of Poland’s Tatra Mountain region – are the ultimate comfort food, says Zuza Zak.

The highlanders traditionally make it using the local sheep’s milk cheese, bryndza – but if you can’t get hold of any, just use feta instead.

Serves four people

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Ingredients

Dough:

• 450g floury potatoes
• 100g bryndza or feta cheese
• 2 tbsp soured cream
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 tbsp plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• large pinch of salt

To serve:

• 1 tbsp salted butter, melted
• 2 tbsp soured cream

Method

• Cook the potatoes in their skins in salted, boiling water for about 20 minutes until soft, then drain and cool.
• In a bowl, mash the potatoes and discard any large bits of potato skin. Crumble in the cheese, add the soured cream and continue to mash together for a few minutes.
• Add the egg yolk and use your hand to bring it together to a dough. Start adding the flour and salt while squishing the dough together with your hand.
• Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Once the dough has formed a ball, place it on a heavily floured work surface and knead it for a few moments.
• Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each one into a thick cylinder. Cut each cylinder diagonally into about 12 pieces. Then roll each one gently in some flour.
• Boil these in batches and remove from the pan with a slotted spoon as soon as the dumplings float to the surface, this should take about 3-4 minutes. If they don’t start to float in this time, make sure that the dumplings are not stuck to the bottom of the pan by giving them a gentle stir.
• Place on a plate with the melted butter and make sure they all get coated. Serve with soured cream on top. (You may want more salt, too.)

Taken from Pierogi: Over 50 Recipes to Create Perfect Polish Dumplings by Zuza Zak, published by Quadrille at £18. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £13.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.