| Mama's Cheese Dumplings (serves 4-6) |
Mama was what we called our maternal Grandmother, a formidable Jewish matriarch who was admired, feared and loved by all her offspring. She was also a wizard in the kitchen. Although crippled for the last 20 years of her life she was supreme ruler of that place, giving precise and explanatory instructions that allowed her helpers to achieve the exact results she wanted. These dumplings were usually made for Shavouth, but being so light and delicious she also used to serve them when she wanted to spoil herself or others.
The cheese used should be drained skimmed milk curds. Otherwise cottage cheese can be used. To drain curd cheese, hang it in a cheesecloth bag to drip over- night, or until the cheese has a dry crumbly texture.
500 gr. dry curd cheese (such as Urda or Ricotta)
1 large egg
50g semolina
50g flour
Pinch of salt (some salt is present in the cheese) and one or two grinding of a pepper mill
Grated rind of half a lemon (optional)
Very small pinch of nutmeg (optional)
To finish
75-100gr melted butter
Sour cream and a good fruit jam or preserve
Method
In a large mixing bowl crumble the cheese, adding the egg, semolina and flour. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix gently to soft, but manageable dough. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Bring a large pot of slightly salted water to the boil. With wet hands, shape the dough into 4 cm round dumplings. Slide these carefully into the boiling water, return to boiling point and simmer very gently for 2-3 minutes or until the dumplings have fluffed and rise to the surface.
Carefully lift out the delicate dumplings into a hot serving dish. Drizzle with melted butter and serve very hot accompanied with more melted butter, sour cream and an excellent fruit preserve, Povidle, prune jam, is best. |
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