Paliushky (палюшки, lazy potato-curd dumplings)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A large pot for boiling potatoes and dumplings
• •A potato ricer or sturdy masher
• •A wide frying pan for the onions
• •A slotted spoon
• •A bench scraper or sharp knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Dry the potatoes

   Put the potatoes in a big pot of cold salted water and bring them to a steady boil. Cook until a fork goes through without argument and the edges start to crumble, then drain well and return them to the warm pot. Mash or rice them until smooth, spread them out, and let the surface turn matte rather than wet. They should be warm enough to touch, not hot enough to cook the egg.

   This is the step that decides the dish. Dry, cooled potato needs less flour; less flour keeps paliushky tender instead of rubbery.
2. 2

   Fry the onions

   While the potatoes cool, warm the sunflower oil in a wide pan and add the onions with a pinch of salt. Let them soften slowly until the sharp onion smell changes into sweetness and the edges turn deep gold. Add the butter at the end if you're using it, so the onions shine and the fat tastes round. Keep the pan ready; this is where the dumplings will land.

3. 3

   Mix the dough

   Add the crumbled curd cheese, egg, salt, pepper, and 180g flour to the cooled potato. Mix with your hands or a spoon just until it comes together as a soft dough with no wet pockets. It should hold when pressed but still feel gentle, not bouncy like bread. Aunt Nadia's note in the shoebox says "not too much flour, Lesiu, or you make erasers," which is rude and correct.

   If the curd cheese is wet, add the spoonful of potato starch before you reach for more flour. Starch firms the dough without making it heavy.
4. 4

   Cut little fingers

   Dust the board well and divide the dough into manageable pieces. Roll each one into a rope about as thick as your thumb, then cut it on a slight diagonal into short little fingers. Lay the paliushky on a floured tray as you work, with space between them so they don't glue themselves together and make comedy.

5. 5

   Boil in batches

   Bring a large pot of salted water to a lively boil, then lower it so the water moves without throwing the dumplings around. Slide in a batch of paliushky and nudge the bottom once with a spoon so nothing sticks. When they rise, give them a short breath in the water, then lift one and cut it open. The middle should be tender and one color, not raw-flour white.

   Cook one tester first. If it falls apart, work a little more flour into the dough. If it holds but feels firm, stop touching the dough and let the onions do their forgiving.
6. 6

   Tumble with onion

   Lift the dumplings straight from the pot into the pan of golden onions. Toss gently so each one gets coated in the green-gold oil and onion sweetness; add a spoon of cooking water if the pan looks dry. Serve in deep bowls with dill, black pepper, and cold smetana on the side. Make a big bowl. There is no tradition of a small one.

Chef Tips

• •Use floury potatoes, not waxy salad potatoes. Waxy ones stay slick and ask for too much flour, then you end up with dumplings that bounce back at you.
• •If your curd cheese is damp, wrap it in a clean cloth and press it while the potatoes cook. Wet curd makes you chase it with flour, and flour always wins.
• •The dough forgives rough shaping, uneven cuts, and a crooked knife. It does not forgive kneading like bread. Once it holds together, leave it alone.
• •For a plant-based table, leave out the curd and egg, add 2 tablespoons potato starch, and use enough flour to make a soft rope. Finish with onions and mushrooms. A bit more modern, and still a good supper.
• •Leftover boiled paliushky are excellent the next day. Fry them in sunflower oil until the edges go golden, then eat them with smetana and something sharp from a jar, pelustka if you have it.

Advance Preparation

• •The potatoes can be boiled, mashed, and chilled the day before. Cold dry mash makes the easiest dough.
• •The onions can be fried a day ahead and warmed gently before the dumplings are boiled.
• •The dough is best shaped and cooked soon after mixing; once flour meets potato, don't make it wait all afternoon.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 310g)