Potato Dumplings (Kartoffelklöße)

German Kartoffelklöße, also known as Kartoffelknödel in Bavaria and Austria, as well as by a variety of other regional names, often with specific added ingredients, are pretty simple to make. There are many regional variations, as some people use egg, some use already cooked potatoes, some use a 50/50 proportion of raw and already cooked potatoes, and a few use all raw potatoes. Some use regular flour, some use semolina, some use breadcrumbs, some add finely chopped ham or bacon, and of course, sauteed onion is a common addition. Some are made round, some oblong, some are flattened. Some are large, while others are much smaller. So experiment, if you'd like, as this is only the basic recipe I have here, which is quite common. I may do some variation recipes here also.

Basic Ingredients:

potatoes, boiled, then mashed, use mealy/starchy potatoes (Russets are good for this)
flour
egg (optional)
salt
parsley, dried or fresh

Heat water in a pan large enough to hold a few dumplings at a time. Add a little salt to the water.
Take the mashed potatoes and mix in flour equivalent to a quarter of the potatoes (also if using egg, beat lightly and mix in). Add the parsley to mix it in. If the dough is still too sticky or loose, mix in small amounts of flour until you get the right consistency; that is, dough that will not fall apart easily in gently boiling water. If the dough is a little sticky, that's okay, as you don't want them to be too floury. It's a good idea to lightly coat the dumplings with flour before putting them into the water. Again, mealy potatoes are best, but if you use another type, civilization won't end. Form the dumplings into the size you prefer, and put them into gently boiling water. Don't crowd the dumplings in, and it's far better to work in batches so that they cook properly, while keeping the already cooked dumplings warm. They will float within a few minutes, but I give them another couple of minutes to make sure the flour content is completely cooked. Use a slotted spoon to remove the dumplings.

Potato dumplings with mushroom gravy and beets

WORD HISTORY:
Raw-This word, with a basic meaning, but with a variety of specific meanings, goes back to Indo European "kreuh," which meant, "uncooked, bloody flesh." This gave its Old Germanic offspring, "khrawaz," with the same meaning. This then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon), "hreaw," meaning, "uncooked, raw, unprocessed." This then became "rau," then "raw." Forms in the other Germanic languages: German "roh" (as with English, it once had several spellings with "h," including, "hrowes"), Low German Saxon "rauh" (also like English, it once had spellings with "h," including, "hrao"), Dutch "rauw," Swedish, Danish, Norwegian "rå," Icelandic "hrár." As I've noted before, getting modern Frisian words is not easy, and the best I could find were previous spellings, "rä," and "rê."