Potato Dumplings and Red Cabbage With Apples

How to make potato dumplings

When I first made potato dumplings, I wondered if I was really breaking up just-cooked potatoes and then putting them back together into almost the same shape?! But believe me, this minimal extra effort is so worth it. They are so fluffy, velvety, smooth, delicate, soft – truly excellent!

For the most delicious potato dumplings, you must first boil potatoes, peel them, put them through a potato ricer, mix with the other ingredients to form a dough and, after it has cooled down, form into dumplings and then place them in a large pot with hot salted water (they are prepared without a steamer). While it’s not a quick 15-minute recipe, it’s also not science that requires you to keep doing something.

In the recipe below, I describe some tips for sure-fire potato dumplings that are guaranteed not to fall apart during cooking – if you follow my recipe exactly. Speaking of cooking. If you’re wondering how long potato dumplings are properly boiled, then let me tell you: it’s best not at all! They only pull in hot salted water, in boiling water they would fall apart and dissolve in the water. After approx. 20 minutes steeping time, they are ready, at least when they appear on the surface.

On the photos, you can see the dumplings neatly cut apart with a knife and torn apart with a fork. Don’t they look delicious?

How to make potato dumplings ahead of time or freeze your leftovers

Should it happen that some of the delicious dumplings, or even the raw dough, is left over, or you want to make some ahead of time, then let me tell you that it is possible freezing them raw or cooked. They will not turn out quite as soft and fluffy as they were freshly made, but they’re still very good!

If you want to freeze the raw dough, you have to form dumplings first. Whether raw or cooked (but cooled!): First freeze them separately, i.e. on a tray or similar if there is space in your freezer, so that they don’t stick together in a lump. Then, after about an hour, you pack them airtight (in a bag or a can) and put them back in the freezer.

Frozen dumplings are reheated directly in hot (not boiling!) water. Prepare raw frozen dumplings as in the recipe as if they were freshly formed. The same goes for already cooked ones, but the brewing time is then reduced to about five minutes, until they float to the top again.

In the second photo, the dumplings were cut, and in the third one, they have been torn apart with a fork.

You can also store leftover (fully cooked) potato dumplings in the fridge and then fry them! I love using leftover potato dumplings from the day before. Simply heat a little oil in a pan, cut the dumplings into smaller pieces and fry them, season with pepper, and serve with a salad, for example. They will be nice and crispy on the outside, but wonderfully soft on the inside – mmmh!

But they taste especially good when fresh made – served with some homemade braised red cabbage with apples. …

Braised red cabbage: an underestimated delicacy

In my opinion, red cabbage (or purple cabbage as it’s also called sometimes) receives far too little attention; I confess, also at my home. Too bad, because red cabbage is so healthy – and so good! Whether raw in salads or summer rolls in summer or braised in autumn and winter – that’s how I love it most.

Braised, warm, soft, spicy red cabbage with apple goes wonderfully with – you can guess – right – potato dumplings. But also very easy with boiled, peeled potatoes (with a piece of vegan butter on top and salt) – that’s my variant if I want it to go faster.

I would describe this red cabbage with apple recipe as traditional Austrian or Viennese red cabbage, because I’ve known the taste since I was a child. However, here it is often prepared with (goose) lard or with some beef soup. Even in the case of obviously vegetarian or vegan recipes from Austria, some animal derived ingredient is often unnecessarily “hyped up”. So if you ever eat red cabbage in a restaurant, it’s better to ask to be on the safe side.

How to season and prepare red cabbage

Making fresh braised red cabbage with apples yourself is not rocket science, but it does take a little time to marinate. A lot can be prepared the day before. However, the preparation itself is very quick and simple, especially with a food processor. You can find the details in the recipe at the end of this post, but here is a rough summary of how to cut, prepare, season, and cook the red cabbage:

For a wonderfully flavorful red cabbage, you first have to cut it into fine strips, then switch the blade of your food processor and grate the apple into the same container. Next comes vinegar, salt, pepper, vegetable broth, and fruit juice (e.g. apple juice, but also orange juice or grape juice – or also fermented red grape juice, ergo red wine, nomnom if it doesn’t have to be quite so child-friendly), and then everything is nicely kneaded and then marinated – at best overnight.

The next day, an onion is fried and caramelized with a little sugar, then the red cabbage is added along with the liquid, and it is also refined with spices (bay leaf, cinnamon stick and cloves) before you leave it cooking for about an hour. With this method of preparation (kneading, marinating, slow cooking) the red cabbage becomes nice and soft.

Speaking of soft, warm cabbage: If you want to try another Austrian cabbage recipe, then make sure to try these delicious Krautfleckerl, a pasta dish made out of white cabbage.

Grandma’s level

Alrighty, gossiped enough. Now it’s time to get down to nitty gritty and show you how to prepare mouthwatering vegan potato dumplings and/or red cabbage with apples. The recipe seems very long, but that’s because I like to explain everything in detail.

You will see and taste that the result is digging – at least as good as grandma’s! She will probably even ask you for the recipe, hehe. Please recommend me.

Did you try this recipe?

I would love to see the result. Please do not forget to tag me on Instagram: @plantbased.redhead.cooks

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