Polish · Authentic-ish Polish
Plum Knedle
364 kcal a serving, against 575 for the traditional version. That is 211 kcal off, or 37%, with 21.9g of protein. Serves 4. 1 hour plus cooling.
What the traditional version is
Potato-based dough wrapped round whole fresh plums, poached, then served with generous melted butter and a heap of caster sugar. Every dumpling is a pudding and a meal at the same time.
What changed, and what each change costs
Swap about half the potato for quark, and use egg white instead of whole egg
Potato and flour bring a lot of comfort but not much protein. Bringing in quark adds a decent chunk of protein without changing the dough too much, and egg white holds it together. You lose a bit of plumpness but the bite is better.
What it costs you. Only purists will notice the potato's been demoted. That said, the dough's not as fluffy - you get a firmer dumpling that won't dissolve in the water. The trade-off is feeling less like you've eaten a pillow brick afterwards.
Lose the butter-sugar sauce, use spiced yoghurt with cinnamon and a touch of sugar
Butter and sugar are the first to go if you want to see the scale move, but just skipping them leaves you with dry dumplings. Greek yoghurt, even fat-free, with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a pinch of sugar gives you a sauce that's still creamy, just sharper and lighter.
What it costs you. You lose the rich gloss and that melted-butter mouthfeel. This won't coat your lips with anything but the faint taste of virtue. If you're truly missing the butter, you'll have to get over it or plan a run.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 575 | 364 |
| Protein | 11.8g | 21.9g |
| Fat | 18.6g | 1g |
| Saturated fat | 10.7g | 0.2g |
| Carbohydrate | 92.2g | 67.9g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 2g | 6g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Polish prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. gluten, eggs, milk.
The method is in the book
This isn't the plum knedle of your nan's kitchen, not even close. You don't get the butter pool or the warm fuzzies that only a pile of carbs can bring. But you do get dumplings you can face without lying to your GP about your cholesterol, with a sharp, clean sauce that surprises you with how well it works. The dough's not as light, but you might actually want to get off the sofa afterwards. It's not a pudding disguised as lunch, it's lunch that still feels a bit like pudding.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Polish, along with 56 more. It is not out yet. The swap kit is free in the meantime.