Polish Kopytka

The polish potato dumplings I´m going to make today are called Kopytka (pronunciation: kowpitkar) which apparently means little hoofs (I didn´t know that until today. I thought they looked like pillows). Most of you know the Italian Gnocchi better, but once you tried these you never want anything else anymore. And I might say that because my grandmother gave me this family recipe, but it is a lot simpler and better than it´s Italian “brother” too.

F.y.i. I´m going to cook for 2 people today :D

Ingredients

 

•  600g (21oz) potatoes
  • 1 egg
• 150g (1 ¼ cups) flour plus a hand full for the kitchen mat
• a pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion, minced

Utensils

• a vegetable peeler
• two pots
• a colander
• a potato masher
• a pastry board
• a butter knife
• a skimmer
• a cutting board
• a knife
• a pan
• a plate
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

How to cook Kopytka? 

Step one: Wash your hands ;)

Step two: Boil water in a pot and add a pinch of salt.

Step three: Peel potatoes and cook until they are tender. It depends on the potatoes and your stove, but it takes around 15 minutes.

Step four: Drain the potatoes thru a colander and mash them until there are no lumps.

Step five: Scatter a hand full of flour on the pastry board and place the mashed potatoes on top of it. Wait until the mashed potatoes have reached room temperature.

Step six: Mold a well in the middle so that the cracked egg and flour don´t leak out.

Step seven: Knead the dough while adding the flour little by little until all the ingredients are combined. Only add flour when it´s needed even though it is sticky because this is what makes the Kopytka so fluffy.

 

Step eight: Boil water in a large pot and add a pinch of salt. Slightly roll out the dough so it looks like a snake and is as thick as your thumb. Cut it diagonally into little hoofs (or pillows). 

 Step nine: Drop the Kopytka in the water and wait another 2- 3 minutes from the moment until they float on the surface. Use your skimmer to get them out and put them on a plate until you cooked all of the dumplings.

Step ten: Repeat step eight and nine until you finished the dough. Chop the onion very finely. Heat a pan and add the vegetable oil and minced onion. Roast the Kopytka in the pan and serve.

Enjoy your meal! Smacznego!

P.s.: Maybe you can find someone else who is willing to clean the kitchen ;D

Join Us For Dinner - Portugal Style

Since both of us, Nora and Magdalena, are probably two of  the worst cooks you will ever meet, we were kind of worried about this blog post. Finding something that we both like and are able to prepare caused us quite a headache. It was during one of our countless discussions about football that we suddenly had a brainwave! In honour of our favourite football player, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was going to play an international match for his country Portugal the next Sunday, we decided to cook his favourite dish and then watch the game together.
Rumour has it that Ronaldo's favourite dish Bacalhau à Bras has its origins in Bairro Alto, an old district of Portugal's capital, Lisbon. Bacalhau stands for the type of fish used for the dish, whereas Bras is allegedly the surname of the creator. As for the dessert, we decided to prepare a traditional Portuguese caramelised vanilla pudding.

Quite frankly...in the beginning we were both a little sceptical about the fish meal. However, once we were halfway through the recipe our worried facial expressions quickly faded to a smile. Considering the fact that our cooking skills are quite limited, we still managed to do a pretty good job...but see for yourselves! ;)


Ingredients (2 servings)


Main Course: 

• 250 g salt cod
• 1 onion (150 g)
• 250 g potatoes
• 2 eggs
• 2 garlic cloves
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• 15 g black olives
• parsley (to taste)

Dessert: 

Caramel

• 20 g sugar
• 3 tablespoons water

Vanilla pudding

• 37 g custard powder (Vanilla)
• 40 g sugar
• 500 ml milk

Preparation

- Bacalhau à Bras

• Place salt cod in water and soak for at least 12 hours. Drain and cover with fresh water every few hours. 

• Cut salt cod into small pieces.

• Grate potatoes into fine matchsticks and cut onions into fine rings.
  
  

• Beat eggs, then add salt and pepper and mix well. 

• Fry potatoes in a pan and set them to one side. 

• Place onion rings in a deep pan and sweat until golden. 

 
• Add potatoes and mashed garlic and stir whilst adding the lightly beaten eggs with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat before eggs solidify!

• Garnish with parsely and black olives and serve with red wine (or mango juice if non-alcoholic drinks are preferred).

- Caramelised Vanilla Pudding

• Mix custard powder, sugar and 6 teaspoons of milk in a small bowl 

• Bring remaining milk to a simmer 

• Add custard mixture and mix well

• For the caramel, warm sugar and water over low heat and stir until it turns caramel-coloured

• Pour caramel over pudding and garnish with chocolate sprinkles 

BOM PROVEITO!

Although it took us quite a while to prepare this special meal - three hours to be exact - and the result was not perfect, it was definitely worth it in the end. After we had finished cooking and had taken all the pictures for our blog post, we sat down in front of the TV, watched Cristiano play with his national team and enjoyed our delicious meal. To our great joy Portugal won the game. The perfect ending to a really fun evening! ;)