Gomboți, Romanian plum dumplings

Ingredients

For the plums

• 1 kg plums
• 50 g sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the dough

• 1 kg potatoes
• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons semolina
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• about 500 g flour
• 2000 ml water

For the breadcrumbs and shaping

• 200 g breadcrumbs
• 50 g sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 4000 ml water

Preparation

1. Wash the plums, remove the pits and put a little sugar from the 50 g and cinnamon from the 1 1/2 teaspoons into each pit cavity. Set them aside while you make the dough. 2. Peel the potatoes, cut them into small pieces and boil them in 2000 ml of water for 20 minutes, until a fork slides in easily. Drain well. 3. Mash the potatoes while they’re hot, then mix in the eggs, semolina, 4 tablespoons of oil and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. 4. Gradually add the flour, setting a little aside for the work surface, until the dough is only slightly sticky. 5. Oil the work surface and rolling pin, then dust with flour. Roll out the dough and cut it into squares large enough to enclose the plums. Put a plum in the middle of each square and wrap the dough around it, shaping it into a ball. 6. Oil a tray or work surface and arrange the balls without overlapping them. Bring 4000 ml of water to a boil in a large pot. 7. When the water is boiling, add the balls. Boil for 2 minutes, then gently stir with a spatula so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Boil for another 6-8 minutes, until they rise to the surface. 8. While the balls are boiling, heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan. Add the breadcrumbs, the remaining 50 g of sugar and the optional cinnamon. Fry for 5 minutes, stirring, until the breadcrumbs turn brown. 9. Lift out the gomboți with a spatula and roll them in the breadcrumbs. Leave them to cool for 10 minutes before serving.