My husband and I originally planned to go to Scotland for our honeymoon, but our timing was off. The mad cow epidemic had been sweeping the British Isles, so the prospect of staying on a few farms during our visit seemed unwise. We decided to go with our second choice — Prague.
Before going, I discovered that most of the cuisine in the Czech Republic involves variations on the meat-and-potato theme, usually with some sort of dumpling as an accompaniment. Bread dumplings, potato dumplings, flour dumplings ... the Czech palate is fond of this carb-heavy side dish. According to my guidebooks, a not-to-be-missed variety was the fruit dumpling. I looked for a restaurant near our B&B that served the treat, and was pleased to find one near the Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square. Turns out the sweet delicacy was worth the search. I made sure to buy an English-language cookbook that included a recipe for fruit dumplings before we left.
It's been 16 years since our trip, but reading through my travel journal brought me back to the cobblestone streets of Prague, and I wanted to cook everything. Most of all, I wanted to make fruit dumplings.
The traditional filling for this dish is a whole pitted plum. I decided on a slightly different take by using a variety of local plums, in addition to plumcots and apriums (plum/apricot hybrids). For a Vermont twist, I also stuffed some with tart apples and toasted pecans.
The dumplings that we had in Prague were finished with a hard Czech cream cheese called tvaroh, which grates much like Parmesan but has a very mild flavor. I have not been able to locate it stateside, so I served ours with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt, which has a similar flavor.
These dumplings are not going to win any beauty contests, but the pillowy dough around the sweet, tart fruit is delightful, especially when finished with a generous brush of melted butter, a sprinkle of confectioner's sugar and a dusting of cinnamon.
This article was originally published in Seven Days' monthly parenting magazine, Kids VT.
Showing 1-1 of 1
Comments are closed.
Since 2014, Seven Days has allowed readers to comment on all stories posted on our website. While we’ve appreciated the suggestions and insights, the time has come to shut them down — at least temporarily.
While we champion free speech, facts are a matter of life and death during the coronavirus pandemic, and right now Seven Days is prioritizing the production of responsible journalism over moderating online debates between readers.
To criticize, correct or praise our reporting, please send us a letter to the editor. Or send us a tip. We’ll check it out and report the results.
Online comments may return when we have better tech tools for managing them. Thanks for reading.