CHEESE DUMPLINGS…..LENIVYE VARENIKI

These simple Russian dumplings are very similiar to Italian gnocchi and can be made with any soft cheese, ie..ricotta or cottage cheese. Ingredients.....500gm of ricotta cheese or cottage cheese, 2 eggs lightly beaten, pinch of salt, 200gm of plain flour, 25gm/ 2 tbs of butter/ marg, creme fraiche to serve. Place the cheese, eggs and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl and mix well to combine. Add the flour and fold in until it is thoroughly combined. The dough should be soft and form into a ball. Remove the ball from the bowl and place on a floured bord/ surface. Cut the cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each piece into a sausage shape about as thick as your finger. Cut each sausage shape into 3/4"/ 2cm sections. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add 1 tsp of salt. Place half the dumplings in the pot and boil for 2 minutes or until they float on the surface. Using a slotted spoon, remove the dumplings from the pot, transfer to a colander and place under running cols water for a few seconds. This stops the dumplings from cooking and washes away excess starch which can cause the dumplings sticking together. Repeat with the second batch of dumplings in the same way. Heat the butter/ marg in a large frying pan. Add the drained dumplings and saute them until heated through and slightly golden. Serve immediately with a serving of creme fraiche.