Polish Stuffed Potato Dumplings (Kartacze)
Kartacze (cepeliny) Say it: kar-TAH-cheh
Kartacze are the giant oval potato dumplings of Poland's north-east, the Podlasie and Suwałki region, where Lithuanian, Belarusian and Polish kitchens meet. Grated raw potato and mashed potato are kneaded into a sticky dough, wrapped around a savoury minced-meat filling and simmered until springy and dense. Sliced bacon and onion are fried until crisp and poured over the top, and the dumplings arrive glossy with fat, earthy from the potato and rich with pork. They are the centrepiece of family Sunday lunches and village festivals.
Polish Stuffed Potato Dumplings (Kartacze)
Kartacze (cepeliny)
Pronounced kar-TAH-cheh
- Serves
- 6
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 1 hr 25 min
- Level
- Medium
Ingredients
Amounts are scaled. Cooking times and pan sizes stay the same.
For the dough
For the meat filling
For the bacon topping
Method
Grate the 3 lb (1.35 kg) raw potatoes on the finest holes of a box grater into a large bowl. Tip them into a clean cotton cloth or piece of muslin, twist hard and squeeze as much liquid as you can into a jug, then leave the jug to stand for 10 minutes so the potato starch settles to the bottom.
Meanwhile boil the 1 lb (450 g) potatoes in salted water for 15–20 minutes, until a knife slides in with no resistance. Drain, mash until completely smooth and leave to cool until just warm.
Pour the clear liquid off the settled starch and keep the starch. In a large bowl, combine the squeezed grated potato, the mashed potato, the egg, 1 1/2 tsp (9 g) salt and the reserved starch, and knead for 2–3 minutes into a smooth, sticky dough.
For the filling, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the chopped onion for 6–8 minutes, until soft and golden. Add the minced meat, breaking it up with a spoon, and fry for 6–8 minutes until no pink remains; season with 1/2 tsp salt and the pepper and let it cool completely.
With wet hands, take a handful of dough (about 1/2 cup / 120 ml), flatten it into an oval patty in your palm, put 2 tbsp of the cooled filling in the middle and draw the dough up around it. Seal firmly and roll into a plump oval about 4 inches (10 cm) long, smoothing the surface; set it on a tray dusted with potato starch and repeat with the rest.
Bring a wide pot of well-salted water to a gentle simmer — small bubbles, not a rolling boil. Slide in 4–5 dumplings at a time and cook for 20–25 minutes; they rise to the surface after a few minutes, and they are done when they feel firm and springy and a skewer pushed through the middle meets no resistance. Lift out with a slotted spoon and keep warm while you cook the rest.
For the topping, put the diced bacon in a cold frying pan and set it over medium heat; fry for 8–10 minutes until the fat runs and the pieces are golden and crisp. Add the chopped onion and cook for 5–6 minutes more, until soft and lightly browned.
Serve the dumplings hot, two or three per plate, with the hot bacon, onion and rendered fat spooned generously over the top.
Regional variant: Cepelinai (Lithuanian potato dumplings)
In Lithuania the same dumpling is called cepelinai, after the zeppelin, for its shape, and it is often made a little larger. The dough is unchanged, but beside the meat version cooks make a curd-cheese filling of drained white cheese mixed with egg and dill, and a mushroom filling of fried wild mushrooms and onion. Serve them with sour cream alongside the bacon sauce.
Cook's notes
- Squeeze the grated potato really dry — a wet dough gives dumplings that split in the water.
- Boil one test dumpling first: if it threatens to break up, knead another tablespoon of potato starch into the dough.
- Keep the water at a bare simmer; a hard boil will burst the dumplings before they set.
Serve with
The hot crackling sauce spooned over the top, with a sharp cucumber salad or pickled cabbage on the side.
Make ahead and storage
Uncooked dumplings can be dusted with potato starch, covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours, then boiled straight from cold. Leftovers reheat in simmering water for 2–3 minutes or fry in a little fat until crisp.
