The word knedle comes from a German word knödel which means dumpling.
Knedle are similar to kopytka, both can be called potato dumplings. They are different in shape but both are made with boiled potatoes, which have been left to go cold.
I often boil potatoes the day before – the exact amounts are not critical but you must use starchy potatoes. When you have made these once you will have a good idea of the amounts involved.
Traditionally they are served with either melted butter or skwarki (crisp, fried, small squares of bacon) or charred fried onions.
Ingredients
650 -750g boiled starchy potatoes – such as King Edward or Maris Piper
1 egg & 1 yolk
200g potato flour or plain flour or a mixture of the two.(I prefer a mixture or just plain flour)
salt
Method
Peel the potatoes, cut them up into pieces and boil them in salted water.
Drain the potatoes.
Leave the potatoes to cool.
Mash them so that there are no lumps – I have a ricer which is very good for this.
Use a large bowl and put the mashed potatoes into the bowl.
Lightly beat the egg and the yolk together and add this to the potatoes.
Add a little salt.
Weigh out the flour to give an idea of how much is needed – this will depend on the type of potato and the size of the eggs.
Add the flour and mix first with a wooden spoon and then by hand.
You might not need all the flour or you may need more.
Mix until you have a soft dough.
Have ready a large floured board to put the knedle on.
With your hands take small amount of the dough and roll into walnut sized balls.
On the board flatten the ball to a thick disc.
Made a thumb print in the centre of the disc (this allows them to hold more sauce when served).
Repeat this with the rest of the dough.
Fill a large pan with water, add some salt and bring this to the boil.
When the water is boiling, add the dumplings one by one, do not over fill the pan or they will stick together, around 5 at a time.
As they cook they will float to the surface then let them cook for another 2 minutes.
Then remove them with a slotted or a perforated spoon and put them in a colander.
I have a colander sitting in an empty pan by the side of the large pan in which I am boiling the knedle.
Served here with melted butter, charred fried onions and mushroom sauce.
Served in soup dishes by Royal Doulton – Tapestry – 1966 -1988.
Pyzy are potato dumplings, usually stuffed with meat and then boiled.
Traditionally they are served with some skwarki – crispy smoked bacon bits or slightly charred onions, a mixture of the two or just melted butter poured over them.
There are many recipes, some made with raw potato, others with boiled or steamed potatoes and some using a mixture of the two.
I have found that using a 50:50 mixture of fine grated raw potatoes and boiled potatoes gives the best results.
You will need some flour, which can be wheat flour, potato flour or a mixture of the two (I prefer just wheat).
You also need eggs or egg yolks – around 1 egg to 1 kilo of potatoes.
For the filling you needs some cooked meat such as from a klops – meat loaf, cooked kotlety (meat balls/burgers) or meat filling for pierogi.
My mother never made pyzy and I must admit the first time I had them in Poland, I thought they were much too big & heavy! Since them I have tried out many different version and have liked them very much.
In Gvara, a restaurant in Gdańsk, I tried a soup with some pyzy in it. It was utterly delicious.
Dried mushroom consommé with thin sliced mushroom carpaccio* and pyzy filled with pork & shrimp.
* Usually thinly sliced raw meat or fish -named by Giuseppe Cipriani (1900 – 1980) bar owner in Venice, because of the colours used by the Venetian Painter Vittore Carpaccio.
Ingredients
750g of raw potatoes
750g of cold boiled potatoes
1 egg and 1 yolk
1-2 tablespoons of plain flour & extra for dusting
Salt
Method
Grate the raw potatoes using a fine grater.
Place the potatoes on a clean tea cloth.
Squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
Mash or use a ricer to get the boiled potatoes smooth and lump free.
Mix the two sorts of potato together in a large bowl.
Add the egg and the yolk and mix together.
Add enough flour to make a stiff dough.
Add some salt.
Ingredients – Filling
250g of cooked and then minced or finely chopped meat(usually pork)
such as from:
In Polish cookery there are many items, made with flour or potatoes, which when you look up English words to describe them, you find just one word … dumplings!
Some are similar – some quite different – Most I have already written about – there may be some in the future.
Below is a list – with links to those already written about – updated in 2024.
Journey From A Polish Kitchen 