Recipe of the week: Zuza Zak’s Tatras-style lazy dumplings
A speciality of Poland’s Tatra Mountain region, these dumplings are the ultimate comfort food

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
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Exurbs: America's biggest housing trend you haven't heard of
Under the Radar Northeastern exurbs were the nation's biggest housing markets in 2024
-
How to enjoy a coolcation in Sweden
The Week Recommends You won't break a sweat on Lake Asnen or underground at the Adventure Mine
-
Sudoku medium: May 8, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Nashville dining: Far more than barbecue and hot chicken
Feature A modern approach to fine-dining, a daily-changing menu, and more
-
Music Reviews: Coco Jones and Viagra Boys
Feature "Why Not More?" and "Viagr Aboys"
-
Art review: "Wayne Thiebaud: Art Comes From Art"
Feature At the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, through Aug. 17
-
Laurence Leamer's 6 favorite books that took courage to write
Feature The author recommends works by George Orwell, Truman Capote and more
-
Book reviews: 'America, América: A New History of the New World' and 'Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson'
Feature A historian tells a new story of the Americas and the forgotten story of a pioneering preacher
-
A journey into Egypt's western desert
The Week Recommends There is much more to be found in Egypt when straying from the usual tourist destinations
-
Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style: full of 'revelations and surprises'
The Week Recommends The Design Museum's sweeping collection of all things swimming contains hidden depths
-
The Ugly Stepsister: 'slyly funny' body-horror take on Cinderella
The Week Recommends Emilie Blichfeldt's cutting Norwegian revision of the classic fairy tale leaves no character unscathed