Shlishkes (Gnocchi with Toasted Breadcrumbs)

Shlishkes (Gnocchi with Toasted Breadcrumbs)

Being of ashkenazi descent, I grew up eating many traditional Hungarian dishes like kraut-pletzlach (noodles and cabbage), holopches (stuffed cabbage), as well as shlishkes (potato dumplings rolled in toasted breadcrumbs). My mother would make shlishkes on occasion, but I hadn’t eaten it in many years. We were reminiscing about it the other day, so I decided to give it a try. The idea of making a pasta-like dough seemed intimidating, but it was actually quite easy. Rolled in toasted breadcrumbs, these soft potato dumplings are sure to please any palate, ashkenazi and sephardi alike! You can also use this recipe to make gnocchi, and mix it with your sauce of choice (marinara or pesto are good options).

When I looked up my family recipe for shlishkes (which I’ve lightly adapted), I found something interesting. After the instructions for preparing the dough, it said, “take challah.” I would never have imagined that I would need to set aside gnocchi dough for hafrashas challah! After doing some research, it seems as though one would not need to “take challah” for dough that uses only 1 1/2 cups of flour (the original recipe used more). If you’re interested, you can read more about it here.

1 year ago: salad nicoise and other shalos seudos ideas

Post a Comment

39 thoughts on “Shlishkes (Gnocchi with Toasted Breadcrumbs)

  1. So excited to see your Shliskas recipe – can’t wait to try it. They are my absolute favorite food in the world!

    1. Believe me when I tell you that I usually shy away from making homemade dough of any kind. This was really easy, and although my kitchen was a little messy afterwards, it was far from upside down!

  2. I haven’t had this in so long! I’m so excited to try making it myself! I also love your pictures – it’s so helpful to actually see the step-by-step process! Thank you for going through the work of posting them for us!!

  3. Question: what is the benefit of boiling the potatoes with the peel on as opposed to peeling first and then boiling (which is easier)?

    1. If you boil the potatoes without the skin, they will retain more moisture and be too soggy for making gnocchi.

  4. I have had these at a take out place but they were not good, now that I see your recipe though I see that they could be wonderful, will have to try this one day, I wonder about a sweet potato version.

  5. Can not believe you posted this!!! I have been wanting a recipe bc my Gma always made it BUT she used Schmaltz AND filled them with Jam for dessert — I can do w/o the schmaltz though, that’s for sure

  6. Was so excited to find this recipe, my husband still talks about his grandma’s shlishkas and we made it yesterday. It was delicious, thanks for posting.

  7. My bubbe used to make shlishkes basically the same way, but after coating them with toasted bread crumbs she tossed them with sauted/lightly browned onions. Yummy!

  8. Your shlishkas look very nice, I have a quick tip that works very well for us (my son does it for me on occasion). I put the shlishka batter (or dough) into a disposable pastry bag and squeeze them directly into the pot (no rolling necessary) hold a knife and cut them to the desired size while dropping into the boiling water. They usually turn out uniform in size and really nice looking.
    Keep your recipes coming!

  9. I have been making these for years, but I use 3 potatoes, 1 egg and 2-1/2 cups of flour. 3 cups of challah crumbs and 3/4 of a stick of margarine. I make them once a year because they are do labor intensive and I work full time. We have them every Thanksgiving. I make a double recipe because the family is growing. My grandmother, my mother, and my mother-in-law made these and they all tasted the same!

  10. My family is from the Italian/Croatian border and my mother used to make gnocchi. The first day we would have them with tomato sauce and my sister and I would make sure that we there would be leftovers. The next day my mother would reheat them in butter and breadcrumbs as you have written here however we would then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon!

  11. My Ashkenazi (Austro-Hungarian Polish) grandmother cooked these on a regular basis. She gave them the nickname “shlengalech,” or “little snakes” in Yiddish, so I had difficulty tracking down a recipe. I’m so glad to have found one here. Thanks for posting!

  12. I made this twice now. AMAZING! Just like my Bubelah used the make. My one suggestion is to dice a large onion then heavily carmelize it in butter or canola. Toss that in at the very end with the bread crumbs and dumplings. Thanks for sharing this wonderful bit of Eastern European Jewish soul food!!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *