Gnocchi di Susine alla Friulana Dolce con Zucchero e Cannella

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

A sweet variant of the plum dumplings traditional in both Friuli and the adjacent Slovenian and Austrian Alpine cultures — potato dough formed around sugar-filled fresh plums (when in season) or candied plums, boiled until the dough is cooked and the fruit softens inside, then rolled in toasted breadcrumbs and served with melted butter, sugar and cinnamon. The dish straddles the line between a first course and a dessert.

• Sweet plum dumplings in potato dough with sugar and cinnamon — the Czech version; nearly identical to the Friulian preparation with minor regional spice differences → Švestkové knedlíky (sweet) Czech
• Plum-filled sweet dumplings from Transylvania — the Romanian mountain version of the same Alpine sweet dumpling tradition → Colțunași cu prune dulci Romanian
• Polish potato dumplings with plum filling — the same potato-dough-and-fruit dumpling tradition from Central Europe → Kopytka ze śliwkami Polish

Sweet-tart plum giving way to the neutral, starchy potato dough; cinnamon and sugar add aromatic sweetness; the breadcrumbs give crunch; the butter ties everything — a preparation that is more Central European than Italian and all the more interesting for it