Gnochi de Susini

Plum Dumplings

Duration: 1 h

Difficulty: Medium

Region: Friuli Venezia Giulia

Gnochi de susini, or plum gnocchi, are a typical dish of Friuli. Recipe of ancient tradition, these gnocchi are filled with plums and their specialty is precisely the sweet-savory contrast that forms in the mouth every time one tastes one.

Pairing Wine: Collio Sauvignon DOC

Ingredients

For 4 people:

• 300 g of dried plums
• 1 kg of potatoes
• 200 g of flour
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons of grated cheese
• Sugar
• 3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs
• Butter
• salt

How to Proceed

Take a saucepan, add 3 tablespoons of sugar and fill it with a little water. Pour the prunes into it and then heat the water until boiling. Turn off the heat and let them soak in hot water. Leave the water with the plums to cool, then drain them and, if there are pits, pit them.

Take a saucepan and put the potatoes in it with all their skins, then fill it with water. Add a little salt and boil them until they are soft inside. Once cooked, drain and peel them when still hot.

Take a potato masher and mash the potatoes when they are still hot, dropping the puree into a bowl.

In the bowl with the potatoes, add a little salt, break the egg and 2 tablespoons of grated cheese and start mixing everything. Knead until you get a compact and homogeneous dough.

Prepare a pastry board, pour a little flour on the bottom. Pour the mixture of eggs, potatoes and cheese into the center.

Start kneading by gradually adding as much flour as necessary until the dough stops being sticky. The amount of flour depends a lot on the quality of the potato and the humidity inside. So it’s important that you dose the flour according to the consistency of the dough. In the end you will get a soft, smooth and easily workable dough. Form a ball and let it rest for about ten minutes.

Then take one plum at a time and start forming a coating around it with the mixture of potatoes and flour

Wrap the dough around the plum to form dumplings about the size of a walnut. If the plums are too big, cut them in half with a knife. Help yourself by rolling the dumpling in your hands to give it the roundest and most regular shape possible.

Gradually prepare all the plum gnocchi by placing them on a tray with a base of flour.

Put a pot of salted water to boil, cook the gnocchi and then remove them as soon as they come to the surface. Distribute the gnocchi among the various plates or in a single tray.

Take a saucepan, add a knob of butter and heat until it melts. Then add 3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs and, stirring, toast it in the butter.

In another saucepan, melt another knob of butter. Divide the gnochi de susini (plum dumplings) into the various portions then sprinkle them with the toasted breadcrumbs and drizzle with the melted butter. Finally, garnish the dish by sprinkling the gnocchi further with the ground cinnamon. The gnochi de susini must be served hot.