P
Italian · Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Gnocchi di Susine — Plum-Filled Potato Dumplings
Gnocchi di susine (or Zwetschkenknödel in the German-speaking tradition) are the Central European plum dumplings that Friuli shares with Slovenia, Austria, and Croatia — a shell of potato dough wrapped around a whole small Italian plum (or prune plum, susina or damson), then boiled and finished with toasted breadcrumbs and cinnamon sugar, sometimes browned butter. The combination of savoury-starchy potato exterior and jammy-sweet plum interior is the defining flavour paradox of the Central European pasta tradition — sweet dumplings served as a primo or as a dessert secondo. In Friuli, they are served as a first course at lunch in autumn when the susine damascene (damson plums) ripen.
I
The Market List
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For the potato dough
1 kg
200–250 g
tipo 00 flour
use the minimum quantity needed for the dough to barely cohere
Your own market
1
egg
Your own market
1 tsp
fine salt
Your own market
For the filling
12–16
small damson or susina damascena plums
slightly underripe; pitted
Origin · New ZealandPurely Artisan Foods · San Diego →
12–16
small sugar cubes
one per dumpling, to replace the removed pit
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1
cinnamon stick
broken into small fragments, one per dumpling
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the coating
80 g
dry breadcrumbs
plain, fine
Your own market
2 tbsp
caster sugar
Your own market
1 tsp
ground cinnamon
Your own market
80 g
unsalted butter
divided: part for toasting breadcrumbs, remainder melted for finishing
Your own market
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Cook the floury potatoes in their skins in well-salted boiling water until completely tender. Drain and rice them immediately while hot, spreading the riced potato on a clean surface to allow steam to escape. Allow to cool completely. A warm or wet potato mass will force excess flour into the dough and make the dumplings heavy.
2
Add the egg and salt to the cooled riced potato. Sift in 200 g of the 00 flour and bring the dough together with as few movements as possible, adding flour in small increments only until the dough barely coheres — it should be soft and slightly tacky but hold its shape when pressed. Overworking or over-flouring produces a tough, dense shell.
3
Pit each plum cleanly. Insert one small sugar cube and one fragment of cinnamon stick into the cavity where the stone was. The sugar cube caramelises inside the dumpling during cooking; the plum must be slightly underripe — a fully ripe plum dissolves to jam and floods the dough from within.
4
This is where the dish lives or dies. Portion the dough into pieces of 50–60 g each. Flatten each piece in the palm, set a filled plum at the centre, and wrap the dough up and around the fruit, pressing firmly to seal every join without gaps or thin patches. A complete, even seal is mandatory: any gap or insufficiently thick wall will allow the dumpling to burst open in the boiling water, releasing the filling and collapsing the structure. The sealed dumpling should be smooth and round, with no visible seam.
5
Bring a large pot of salted water to a steady boil. Lower the dumplings in gently and cook for 8–10 minutes. They are done when they have risen to the surface and floated there for the final few minutes of cooking; test one by lifting it clear — it should feel set and firm, not soft or yielding under gentle pressure.
6
While the dumplings cook, melt a portion of the butter in a wide pan over medium heat and add the breadcrumbs. Toast, stirring constantly, until the crumbs are uniformly deep golden and smell of toasted grain and butter. Remove from heat and mix in the caster sugar and ground cinnamon.
7
Lift the cooked dumplings from the water with a slotted spoon and allow to drain briefly. Roll each one gently in the cinnamon-sugar breadcrumb mixture until evenly coated on all sides. Arrange on warmed plates, drizzle with the remaining butter, melted, and serve immediately — the coating should be visibly golden and the butter should glisten on the surface.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Susine damascene (true damson plums) sourced from a named Friulano or Slovenian grower at peak autumn season, slightly underripe; stone-milled tipo 00 flour; farm eggs with deep-yolk colour; cultured unsalted butter.
02
Estate — Good-quality damson or small Italian prune plums from a farmers' market, slightly firm; reliable branded 00 flour; free-range eggs; quality unsalted butter.
03
Market — Any firm small plum of the damson or Stanley type available at the market; standard supermarket 00 flour; commercial eggs; standard unsalted butter.
04
House — Firm small Victoria plums or similar stone fruit; plain flour substituted for 00 in necessity; any unsalted butter. The dish remains coherent if the seal is sound and the fruit is underripe.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. The riced potato is fully cool and dry to the touch before the flour and egg are added — warmth or residual moisture in the potato signals the dough will need excess flour.
◇Touch. The dough barely coheres and holds a shape when pressed, neither crumbling nor sticking aggressively to the hand — this is the minimum-flour threshold.
◇Touch. The sealed, raw dumpling is smooth and round with no detectable seam, gap, or thin patch under light finger pressure.
◇Sight. The dumplings have risen to the surface of the boiling water and float freely — this marks the approach of doneness at the 8-minute mark.
◇Smell. The breadcrumbs in the butter are ready when the smell shifts from raw flour to toasted grain — golden colour confirms it visually.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dumpling seal must be complete and even — any gap or thin wall will cause the dumpling to burst in the water, losing the filling and destroying the dish.
Pillar V
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Sparkling wine
From British Columbia
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Without alcohol
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The whole pairingPillar VII
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Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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