If you recognize them as cheese gnocchi, I won’t argue. But I grew up knowing them as Farmer Cheese Shilshkes in Yiddish or Galushki in Ukrainian. I also knew them as Lazy Kreplach – lenivye vareniki (Kreplach is a Yiddish word for ravioli). I thought it was just my grandmother’s name for them. Think about it: instead of making dough, rolling it thin, cutting circles, preparing cheese filling, putting filling in the center of those circles, and gingerly but firmly pinching them shut, you just dump all ingredients into a bowl, dough and filling ingredients together, mix them up and cook for a few minutes in bite size pieces. As my great-uncle used to say, it’ll all mix in your stomach anyway!
Watch Patzyuk, a character in Evenings on a Farm Near Dikan’ka by a Russian classic Gogol trying to improve on this process in his own way.
If you want to watch the entire film – and it is very funny! – Youtube has it with English subtitles.
It took me quite a few years to realize that this was what the Russians named this Ukrainian dish when first introduced to it in 17th century. I choose to interpret it as more admiration for ingenuity than offense!
Dump farmer cheese, flour, eggs, a little bit of butter, salt, and sugar into a bowl in no particular order. Mix well until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
The dough will be soft but not sticky. Dump it onto a floured surface and generously dust it with flour. Divide the dough into four to eight parts, depending on the number of kids you want involved in the fun and their ages. Issue separate boards to your kids and let them roll their own round bands. The length and width of them doesn’t matter. They don’t have to be even. If they are more flat than round, that’s even better because eventually you have to flatten them anyway. Don’t forget to snap a photo of your kids covered in flour from head to toe!
Once the bands – or strips, if you will – are ready and flattened a little, cut them into squares, or rhombuses, about 1/2 square inch (about 2 sq cm) each. Cover and refrigerate. If you don’t plan to serve them right away, though, freeze them and don’t defrost before cooking.
Bring a pot of water to boil, add salt and a splash of oil. Place refrigerated or frozen shlishkes into boiling water, stir, reduce heat to medium. If they had been refrigerated, they are ready as soon as they pop up to the surface. Frozen, they have to cook for about four – five minutes after they have popped up. Do not crowd the pot! Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately toss with butter.
Serve with sour cream. They will melt in your mouth, but don’t expect them to jump into sour cream and then into your mouth on their own. Sorry, but you’ll have to use a fork!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 lb farmer cheese
- 1 cup self-rising flour plus some more for dusting
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons of butter plus some more before serving
- 2 – 3 tablespoons of sugar (to taste)
- a pinch of salt
PROCEDURE
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix thoroughly until soft dough pulls off the sides of the bowl.
- Turn dough onto a floured surface, dust liberally with flour. Divide into 4 – 8 parts, make round bands.
- Flatten bands slightly, cut into 1/2 square inch (about 2 sq cm) square shapes or rhombuses. Cover, refrigerate or freeze. If frozen, do not defrost before cooking
- Bring a large pot of water to boil, add salt and oil. Place dough squares into boiling water, stir gently, reduce to medium heat. Cook refrigerated shlishkes until they pop up. Cook frozen shlishkes 4 – 5 minutes after they pop up. Remove with slotted spoon, toss with butter.
- Serve hot with sour cream.
Enjoy!
This is so cool! Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Enjoy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I never knew about this before. You have inspired me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Come on – it’s just the old country background! I am sure that you know lots of things which I never knew.
LikeLike
I have a deep appreciation for traditions and family. Plus, I love when something goes back several generations. There is something very grounding about it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Very much so, and its good to remember it especially now, during the three weeks, when we have to remember how many generations we go back and what we go back to! That’s what helps us go forward.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Yes. Well said.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you
LikeLiked by 1 person
😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
I feel like my kids would love to help make (and eat) this one! Gotta give it a try..thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, this is definitely something to be done with kids, and take lots of pictures, then show those pictures to their kids when they yell at their kids for being too messy!
LikeLiked by 2 people
So happy I met you at “CookingForTheTimeChallenged” 🙂
Every single one of your posts that I’ve read so far is a lesson to me (and I’m not referring to the cooking 😉 )
Turtle Hugs
LikeLiked by 2 people
I thank you so much for your kind words, they mean a lot to me!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
We do have a similar recipe in India but without cheese and eggs. The dough bits are deep fried in oil. They are known as Sharkarpara. It’s a must in most Indian households during festive occassions especially Diwali. Your recipe looks interesting and delicious!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
How interesting! We also have one without cheese, and we have one fried in oil, but without eggs, what is binding the flour?
LikeLike
Hi Dolly! Parts for this recipe reminds me of Jamaican boiled dumplings, only yours has a little bit more substance. We make our dumplings with literally just flour, salt, water, but it’s delicious with all kinds of fish and meat on the side. We also add butter to it while it’s hot. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Eartha, we also make dumplings like yours, with just flour, salt, and water. They are called KLYOTSKI. In addition to used them as a side, we also throw them into clear soups before serving. Amazing, isn’t it, how different cultures come up with the same ideas! Thank you for telling me about it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I find this recipe is compleate new to me ,looks delicious and also easy to prepare.I will make it for my family,I’m sure they would love the dish.I have watched the video you have uploaded ,it is very funny,but I couldn’t find it in youtube.If you have the link of the video,could you please give it to me,cause I love watching funny movies.Many thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, you are so kind! Here is the link https://youtu.be/w8nlYLb2E4I?list=PL5MEYjc5Ow6B9XQpcabGpYPPATAqn9iTi
It is subtitled in English – enjoy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much madam.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those look so good!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! These are not my pictures, though, I am not that good of a photographer.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nevertheless… They look delish. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you kind sir – I am glad you like them!
LikeLike
This recipe is so good.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much, I am glad you like it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I haven’t heard that term, “Shlishkes”, in the longest time. Wow.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hang out with me, you’ll hear all kinds of things!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Yeah; it’s a good thing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You think so, do you? You think you can only learn good things from me?
LikeLike
Yup.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on koolkosherkitchen and commented:
Although this wasn’t part of my family’s traditional Shavuos menu, it is widely popular, delicious, and so easy!
LikeLike
They look delicious. I wonder how they’d taste tossed with some caramelized onions and butter.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Should be yummy, but I would reduce sugar, or sugar substitute – whatever you use.Thank you so much for your kind comment!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hadn’t realized there was so much sugar in them. Definitely would have to reduce the amount.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good luck experimenting, and please let me know how it turns out!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for reblogging.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love your style, my friend! these sound delish!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome, Dolly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
This lovely recipe reminds me of one called “Sirniki.” I prefer your recipe because the kreplich don’t have to be fried the way mine do. Thanks for adding it to my repertoire.
LikeLike
Thank you so much, Ronnie, I am so glad you like it! Yes, the main difference between Syrniki and Shlishkes is that Syrniki are fried, although they could be baked.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The only “dumplings” of any kind I have ever eaten were in a chicken and dumplings dish – and the kind I had were more like noodles. Reading the comments was an education by itself – so many different kinds.
I shall have to try this recipe with GF flour – and without any little kids to help me. 🙂 I’m sure I’ll make a big enough mess all by myself. I haven’t decided whether to use the cheese version or the dairy-free, since I could eat either as long as the flour contained no gluten. Anything with “lazy” in the name is right up my alley.
xx,
mgh
(Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
ADD/EFD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
“It takes a village to educate a world!”
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOL You are not the only one – “lazy” is such an attractive option!
LikeLike
If I don’t have something quick and easy in my back pocket for days when I am extremely busy I end up settling for “p-nut butter on a rice cake” kind of food. I also tend to be the “cook once & freeze what’s left for later” sort, so having greater variety is most welcome.
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, I did the same before I retired, with the only difference that my go-to was a huge green salad with tofu and a veggie juice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You clearly get to the market more often than I! I LOVE salads, but I can’t stockpile fresh greens. I miss the walking days of NYC – especially now that my van is being difficult and I must rely on others to get to the store.
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hit farmer’s market once a week, usually. Lettuce won’t last that long, but spinach and kale do, for example, and some other sturdier greens as well. Also, you can wash and steam broccoli, cauliflower, string beans, etc. , then portion them out and freeze them, and use them for emergencies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Currently, getting to the grocery even once a month is sometimes difficult these days. There’s a lot of “meaning to” involved, combined with quite a few “something came up” calls. My freezer is my best friend!
I can take a cab *to* the store, but cabbies are not happy to pick you up with a load of groceries – and many will NOT respond to calls from grocery stores at all for that reason. It’s quite the challenge – but I have my ways.
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am sure you do have “your ways” – you seem to be quite resourceful! What about Uber or Lyft? Can’t you order groceries online and have Uber pick it up and deliver? They do it here, both for groceries and for restaurant take-outs. I did that, when I had my leg in a cast.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll check that out. Thanks for the suggestion.
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re most welcome! I am sure you can figure things out without my meddling, so please forgive me if I overstepped any boundaries.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your advice and opinions will always be welcome. I did not (and do not) considerate it “meddling” or “overstepping,” but appreciated it as an overture of friendship. Thank you.
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wish I were closer so I could actually do something to help rather than talk about it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A very sweet thought, but you’d never survive the weather here, Dolly. I had to sleep bundled (cold radiators) and today it is still chilly, even inside – at going on 3pm in JUNE!
Not that I’m complaining, mind you. Anything is better for me than the heat of the dreaded summer. My brain melts, even cloistered in my office with the window AC going full blast. 🙂
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know! I tried to survive in Philadelphia but gave up after 4 winters. Summer here is not as bad when you are close to the ocean, and, fortunately, we are.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So I’ve been told, but I vividly recall roasting during the time my family lived on Merritt Island and the early years of Cocoa and Satellite Beach. How close to the beach do you have to live? 🙂
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love Satellite Beach! At some point we considered moving there. We still go visit the Rabbi and his family once in a while. Roasting is good when there is a breeze from the ocean, and you probably have to be no more than a block or two away, but on the ocean side, not the bay.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really wouldn’t know much of anything about it — I was just a kid when we were there.
Satellite Beach was the name of a brand new housing development where my father bought a house being built by the Hitchcock brothers – not even a city yet. Cocoa Beach was in its infancy as well. Melbourne and Eau Gallie were the closest “big cities” – but you wouldn’t exactly call them that at the time if you’d EVER lived or visited up north (unless you were a kid, of course).
Beyond service providers, many of the occupants of both Cocoa and Satellite Beach were families of scientists, engineers, etc. who worked at Cape Canaveral on the missiles being developed and launched by a brand new industry toward a brand new goal – be first to the moon!
Not much to do in either place for dependents if you didn’t swim, bowl, roller skate, play Mahjong with the wives at the Officers Club, or drink.
They hadn’t even started spraying for mosquitoes yet – so being near the ocean breeze offered the only relief. You should have seen my legs when we lived on Merritt Island – always almost completely covered in bites and scabs.
After my father’s project, the Thor Able, launched the first mouse into space, we left Florida for D.C. – long before that sunnier part of the world began to explode. 🙂
I have only been back a time or two since, to visit my father in the home he designed and built for himself and his second wife – on the last available lot right on the canal in Indian Harbor Beach. This was after my mother died and my father had retired and sold the beltway house in Mantua Hills (Fairfax, Virginia, where I attended High School).
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
A mouse into space? I didn’t know there was a project like that – fascinating! So that’s where you get your brilliance from – your father!
Yes, the canal side is scorching, humid, and swarming with mosquitoes. The ocean side now is all developed with hotels, condos, and such – very pricey. Not like South Beach yet, but getting there.
A few years ago, when real estate prices went all the way down the drain, we had this crazy idea of selling our condo, picking up a small house on Satellite dirt cheap, and dock the boat in our back yard. Never happened, which means it wasn’t meant to be, I guess.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My mother was amazingly intelligent as well – but my Dad had us both in spades.
Oh yeah – BIG deal about the mouse – a prelude to manned flight. During the cold war – supposed to be the first life form in space, but there was some kind of delay that forced a reschedule.
There was No Joy in Mudville when the Russian dog beat us up there. 🙂
My Dad named the mouse Wiki – a bit of quick thinking during a pre-launch Press Conference when one of the female reporters asked him, “So what is the mouse’s name?”
Why Wiki? It was the nickname of the reporter who asked the question. 🙂
My Dad and his life-long best friend Miles (a NASA bigwig at one time) had all kinds of plans for the boat they planned to buy together and dock at my Dad’s, since the Rosses lived right on the ocean. Unfortunately, Milesy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died before their dreams could materialize. Another thing not meant to be – but so sad.
I know my Dad got a pretty nice return when he sold his house and downsized to a custom-designed bachelor pad on some land owned by my brother Rick.
Tho’ much smaller and not nearly as nice, I have often wondered what that house we lived in as a family in those early days is selling for NOW. I’m sure my father often wondered that as well.
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wiki the mouse named after the reporter – that’s rich! Your father was one of those scientific geniuses, I gather. That’s some heritage to live up to!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You don’t know the half of it!
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am sure I don’t, but one of these days we’ll sit down with my husband’s signature drinks, and you’ll tell me, I hope.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope so too – about sitting down over drinks, I mean. I’ll be happy to tell you all I know about my father – which is not much, actually, due to his uber-high security clearance level. He developed the habit of playing his cards very close to the vest, as they say.
I wrote an homage post after his death you might find interesting. My childhood was quite different from many of my friends. I know you can relate to THAT!
Let me know if you’d like me to leave a link – or you can use the search box at the top of my site for “Homage to Brandy – the most amazing man I never knew”
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just read it – wow! It’s hard to even imagine growing up with a genius for a
LikeLiked by 1 person
Rah-ther demanding! And a bit like having Dr. Spock from StarTrek as a father. VERY logical, with seemingly little understanding that emotions and desires did not follow logic’s rules- or that little kids were not tiny adults. 🙂
He was quite affectionate, however – and extremely good looking in his day (as was my mother), not that he ever cared much about how he looked.
I kept a scrapbook of his clippings as a child and adolescent, which my sister spirited away, tossed by her sons, I believe, after her death. 😦
I miss him – which is something I know you can understand only too well. Father’s Day is bittersweet, yes? As is Mother’s Day – and her birthday, June 4th.
Thanks for your interest.
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can certainly relate to the void created by loss of parents, although, truthfully, I miss my father and my grandmother much more than my mother. I loved her dearly and have always been very proud of her strength of character, resilience, and ability to get things done in a no-nonsense manner, but I was much closer to my grandmother and my father who were soft and gentle. Perhaps it is due to my resemblance to my mother’s personality; no matter how much I try to be gentle, circumstances always demand that I get up and get things done – so I do! Gentle people don’t usually accomplish much, unless they are Mother Theresa or Mahatma Gandhi. Sadly, I am not up to that level.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nor I. We do what we can – some of us, anyway.
Others seem to think they were born to ride the draft of those who get things done, and that their only responsibility is to say thank you. (some don’t even think they have to do THAT).
Thankfully, I am connected to a lot of people who are givers, not takers. Like you.
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, and I think you are of the giving kind yourself.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep – suffering from “helpers disease” – lol 🙂
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are a social worker – it comes with the territory.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I guess that’s true – shrinks & teachers too.
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
In a way, I function as a combination of the two – Ed Psych. Is that a double strength or double weakness, what do you think?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Depends on which side of which telescope through with you look. 🙂
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
You know me – I prefer to look from a positive side.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I prefer to look at both – and do my best to FOCUS on the positive while I work on overcoming the other.
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 2 people
Certainly, one must assess reality in order to deal with it, but we believe that everything He does is good, so there is no negative reality, inasmuch as we might suffer at the moment.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah – but IS it His will that we struggle, or is struggle a prompt to move from the “negative” to the “positive” under our own steam? (reminded of the old joke about the man who wants to wind the lottery, with the punch line, “Do me a favor, buy a ticket!”)
xx,
mgh
LikeLiked by 1 person
Only He knows the answer, and the answer is different in each individual case, but I know the joke, and yes, we do have to buy that ticket. We have to do our best, and He will do the rest.
LikeLiked by 1 person