Kroppkakor

These traditional swedish potato dumplings have a somewhat dubious name. Kroppkaka means, in literal translation, "body cakes". Mmm! (Actually the word body refers to the orb shape, like a celestial body!)

The current incarnation of these heavenly potato orbs dates to the late 1700s. There are many regional varietes from all over southern Sweden, some using raw potato. This particular recipe is typical of Småland, where my side of the family hails from.

There are even special orders and societies in Sweden dedicated to the Kroppkaka! Here is a recipe for 10 portions, in case you want to start your own appreciation society. Or do as we do and eat the left over ones fried the next day!

The only way to serve them is with melted butter and lingonberry jam.


Ingredients:

Dough:

2 kg potatoes
2 eggs
5- 5,5 dl plain flour
salt 

Filling:

500 g smoked salt pork
2 onions
1,5 tablespoon ground allspice
white pepper (salt - if needed)


Method:

Peel the potatoes and boil them. Strain away the water and let them cool a bit.

Press the potatoes using a potato press. If you don't have one, let the potatoes cool a bit more and use a normal grater.

Finely chop the onions and pork and fry them in batches, so they cook and brown but don't burn.

Sprinkle in the allspice and white pepper to taste, and add salt if needed. Let the filling cool.

Add the eggs and salt to the potatoes. Then add the smaller amount of flour first. Mix into a smooth dough. The dough should be firm enough that you can roll it into thick rolls. Add a little more flour if needed until the dough can be handled.

Split the dough in two and roll into thick rolls. Cut these into slices, making each slice big enough to make a tennisball sized orb when filled. Try to make a couple and you will get a feel for how much dough to use for each one.

Make a depression in each slice and fill with 1- 1.5 teaspoon filling. Press the dough together over the filling and shape into a ball. Be careful that the seam is well closed or the ball will split when cooked. I like to make and cook a single dumpling first as a test. Taste it and adjust seasoning if needed, and make sure you haven't made the dumpling too thick to cook through without getting heavy, or too thin to hold together.

Boil a big pot of water, adding half a teaspoon salt per liter of water. . Drop the balls carefully into the water.
Cook a few kroppkakor at a time, don't crowd them into the pot.

When they float to the surface let them cook a couple of minutes more before fishing them out with a slotted spoon. Let as much water drop off as possible before placing them on a tray.

If some have cooled off by the time they all are cooked it is possible to heat them up in the water quickly before serving.

Serve with melted butter and lingonberry jam.

The next day the leftovers are easy and delicious to fry in butter. They also freeze well, just thaw some in the fridge over night and fry as normal. A quick and convenient supper!