Mom's sauerkraut and dumplings
My mother frequently made this wonderful meal of Sauerkraut and Knoefla (apparently also known as "knedliky"), which she learned from her mother, who was from Czechoslovakia. I recently made this dish and realize how fantastic it is, and I hope it never gets lost to future generations!
1 package of sauerkraut
1 onion
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 potato
2 T butter
2 T flour
Brown pork chops in oil or butter then cover with water and let simmer.
Rinse sauerkraut with water in a colander and add to meat along with 1 chopped onion and 1 teaspoon of caraway seed. Grate a medium size potato and add to the boiling sauerkraut and meat mixture. Simmer for approximately 1 to 1.5 hours until meat is tender and falls off bone or breaks easily. In a separate pan, melt 2 T butter and mix in 2 T flour along with some of the juice from sauerkraut to make a rue. Then add this to the sauerkraut and meat mixture to thicken slightly. Serve over dumplings.
1 egg
1/4 t salt
2 slices cubed bread
3/4 c milk
Fill a 2 quart saucepan with water and boil. Mix flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in mixing bowl. Make a dent in the middle of the flour, add egg, and beat with fork. Add milk slowly until mixture is smooth and thicker than cake batter. Meanwhile, take 2 slices of bread and cut into half-inch cubes (I use whole wheat slices, but you can use any bread, including the crust). Fold the bread into the dough and mix well. The dough will be too sticky to handle, but use extra flour, and with your hands, shape dough into 3 2-inch balls. Drop the balls into the boiling water and cook for about 30 minutes until they float to the top, which indicates they are done. When you cut the balls in half, there should not be any uncooked dough; if there is, simply place these back into the boiling water for another few minutes.
Ingredients for sauerkraut
Pork chops (with or without bones) (no more than 3 for this recipe)1 package of sauerkraut
1 onion
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 potato
2 T butter
2 T flour
Brown pork chops in oil or butter then cover with water and let simmer.
Rinse sauerkraut with water in a colander and add to meat along with 1 chopped onion and 1 teaspoon of caraway seed. Grate a medium size potato and add to the boiling sauerkraut and meat mixture. Simmer for approximately 1 to 1.5 hours until meat is tender and falls off bone or breaks easily. In a separate pan, melt 2 T butter and mix in 2 T flour along with some of the juice from sauerkraut to make a rue. Then add this to the sauerkraut and meat mixture to thicken slightly. Serve over dumplings.
Ingredients for dumplings, or Knoefla
1 cup flour1 egg
1/4 t salt
2 slices cubed bread
3/4 c milk
Fill a 2 quart saucepan with water and boil. Mix flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in mixing bowl. Make a dent in the middle of the flour, add egg, and beat with fork. Add milk slowly until mixture is smooth and thicker than cake batter. Meanwhile, take 2 slices of bread and cut into half-inch cubes (I use whole wheat slices, but you can use any bread, including the crust). Fold the bread into the dough and mix well. The dough will be too sticky to handle, but use extra flour, and with your hands, shape dough into 3 2-inch balls. Drop the balls into the boiling water and cook for about 30 minutes until they float to the top, which indicates they are done. When you cut the balls in half, there should not be any uncooked dough; if there is, simply place these back into the boiling water for another few minutes.
