Kołduny

Looking in my new recipe book “Wilno” I came across a recipe for kołduny.
They looked very much like pierogi and did I some research to find out how they were similar and how different.
Firstly the dough is made with just flour and hot (not boiling) water! – I was very curious as to how this would work out.
The filling is meat, usually pork or beef or a mixture.
The filling is raw minced meat – not cooked meat as in pierogi.
Most recipes used “fatty” meat or added lard (I did not).
The chopped onion is also raw.
Garlic is added – I have not come across this used in pierogi.
Kołduny are described as smaller than pierogi – I now realise that my pierogi are small so these did not seem much smaller.
In order to cook the kołduny they are simmered for 20 minutes – much longer than pierogi are boiled.
The kołduny are served with marjoram (fresh or dried) and butter or soured cream or
They are often served in soup usually rosoł – clear chicken soup.
In the book it states that the kołduny are not eaten with a knife and fork but with a soup!
I found it hard to eat the ones in the soup as they were very hot to bite through!
VERDICT
The dough was good and I would make that again.
However I suppose it is what one is used – but we all preferred the Polish cooked meat fillings of pierogi.

INGREDIENTS – DOUGH

480g plain flour
¼ teaspoon salt
Around 500ml of water at about 70°C (you might not need it all)

METHOD – DOUGH

In a bowl mix the flour with the salt.
Make a well in the centre and add 250ml of the water.
At first using a knife or spoon – later with your hands –
Keep adding water slowly and mix this in with the flour until you have a smooth ball of dough.
Leave this to rest for 30 minutes.

INGREDIENTS – FILLING

500g of minced pork or beef or a mixture.
1 egg
1 onion – chopped fine
2 cloves of garlic – chopped fine
Marjoram – fresh or dried
Salt & pepper

METHOD – FILLING

Mix the ingredients together.
Season with the salt & pepper.

Making the kołduny

Prepare trays with floured tea towels to put the kołduny on.
Cut the dough into quarters.
Roll out the dough until it is thin.
Cut out circles around a tumbler or cutter around 7cm in diameter.
Place a ball of filling in the centre.
Seal up the edges with your fingers to get a semi circle.
Place on the floured trays.
Repeat with the rest of the dough and with re-rollings from the cutting.
*
Use a wide saucepan or deep frying pan.
Add boiling water, salt and a little oil.
Add about 8 kołduny and simmer them for 15 minutes.
Remove with a slotted spoon.
Repeat with the rest of them.
*
Serve with butter and marjoram or
In rosoł – clear chicken soup.
Take care when biting in as the filling will be very hot.
*
Although not traditional we fried up left over kołduny the next day.

Kartacze or Kołduny

Kartacze, sometimes called kołduny , are potato dumplings, stuffed with meat and then boiled.
They are very similar to pyzy but they are a different shape – long rolls rather than round balls.
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.

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:
- Klops – meat loaf
- Cooked minced kotlety (meat balls/burgers)
- Meat filling for pierogi.
Half a grated onion
25g of melted butter
1-2 tablespoons of dried breadcrumbs – bułka tarta
Salt & pepper

Method – Filling

Mix all the ingredients together to make a stiff filling.
Season to taste.

Making the kartacze

You are aiming for a thick roll.
Take a small handful of the mixture and shape it into a flat oval.
Place this onto a floured board.
Add a tablespoon amount of the meat filling.
Bring the potato mixture around the filling and with floured hands shape into a roll.
Seal up the short ends with the potato dough.
Repeat this with the rest of the potato mixture and meat filling mixture.
Have ready a large pan of boiling water to which you have added some salt and a bit of sunflower oil..
Place around 4 kartacze at a time into the hot water.
Let them rise to the top then simmer for 8 – 9 minutes – not too long as they will start to disintegrate.
Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a colander over a pan.
*
Place into a warm serving dish and top with skwarki – crispy smoked bacon bits, slightly charred onions, a mixture of the two or just melted butter.
Keep the dish warm and continue adding to the kartacze in the dish as they cook.
The fat in the topping stops them sticking together.

Dumplings … just one word!

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.