POTATO DUMPLINGS WITH MEAT

Contributed by Astrid Scott Karlsen, Prillar Guri Lodge #30, Lacey, WA and one from Ingrid Espelid Hovig's (Norwegian culinary expert & television chef) recipe as used in her home in Bergen. [Found in Astrid Karlsen Scott's book: Ekte Norsk Mat (Authentic Norwegian Cooking) p. 55 – 56.]

  • 1 lb. raw potaotes, peeled (450g)
  • 1/4 lb. boiled potatoes (115g)
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1.4 - 1 cup barley flour (1.75 - 2.5 dl)
  • 2 - 3 Tbsp. flour
  • 1 small rutabaga
  • Melted butter
  • Thyme

MEAT:

  • 1.5 pounds salted & smoked mutton (675g)
  • ca. 1 lb. salt port (450g)
  • 3 quarts water (3 liters)

Serves 4 – 6

Kumler med kjott (potato dumplings with meat)
  1. Meat: Soak the meat and salt pork overnight. Bring to a boil, uncovered, in fresh cold water. Skim. Simmer meat and salt pork, covered, until tender, about 1 – 2 hours. Remove from pan and keep warm in a little of the stock.
  2. Potato Dumplings: Grate the raw potatoes on the finest part of the grater or grind them in a food mill with the finest attachment. Mash or grind the boiled potatoes and mix the two. Add salt and flour at once to prevent potatoes from darkening. If the potatoes have a high water content you should pour off some of the water before the flour is added or you will have to add more flour and then the dumplings will be too firm. The amount of flour needed depends on the quality of the potatoes. Make a small dumpling to tes this. The mixture should not be so thin that the dumplings spread out into the stock, nor should they be so firm that they are heavy and tough.
  3. Shape the dumplings with a tablespoon dipped in warm stock and drop them into the simering stock. The meat stock should simmer at all times while the dumplings are cooking. The kettle should be so large taht there is plenty of room for the dumplings or they may stick together. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until they are cooked through. To test cut a dumpling in two.
  4. Peel the rutabaga and cut into bite-sized pieces. Boil tender in a little of the meat stock or in lightly salted water. If there is room in the kettle, the rutabagas may be cooked with the dumplings.
  5. Cut the salt pork in slices and the meat in cubes. Place meat, pork and rutabagas on a platter with the dumplings. Serve, using the melted fat skimmed from the stock, or a little margarne [butte]r as a sauce. The next day season the stock with salt and thyme to taste, and serve as a soup with the dumplings or alone.
  1. Note: Some cooks put meat or salt pork in the dumplings, others serve the meat on the side. Some serve potato dumplings with a sauce made from Norwegian goat cheese, geitost, while others pour melted butter over their dumplings. Kumle recipes and traditions vary from place to place and from home to home.
  2. Photo courtesy of Astrid Karlsen Scott.