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Raspeballer

Raspeballer: western Norwegian potato dumplings with butter and fried onion

In Bergen and along the fjords of western Norway, Thursday has long been raspeballer day: big, soft dumplings of grated raw potato and barley flour, called komle or klubb depending on the valley, simmered and served with mashed swede and melted butter. They are usually cooked in a pot with salted lamb and sausage; this vegetarian version serves them with butter, crisp fried onion and kålrabistappe. A common mistake is using too little flour, so the dumplings dissolve in the pot. Chef's tip: test one dumpling first; if it breaks up, knead a little more flour into the rest.
Total time
90 min
Difficulty
medium
Serves
4
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Ingredients

Serves4

For the dumplings

  • 2 ¼ lb potatoespeeled and finely grated
  • 10 ½ oz potatoesboiled and mashed
  • 5 ½ oz barley flour
  • 3 ½ oz plain flour
  • 1 ½ tsp salt

For cooking

  • 16 ¾ cups water
  • 1 tbsp salt

To serve

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Method

0/5 done
  1. Step 1: Squeeze 2 ¼ lb potatoes in a cloth to remove some of the liquid. Mix with 10 ½ oz potatoes, 5 ½ oz barley flour, 3 ½ oz plain flour and 1 ½ tsp salt into a firm, sticky dough.

  2. Step 2: Bring 16 ¾ cups water with 1 tbsp salt to a simmer. With wet hands, shape a test ball the size of a tennis ball and simmer it. If it falls apart, add more flour to the dough. Common mistake: too little flour.

  3. Step 3: Shape the rest into 8 balls and simmer gently for 45 minutes, turning once, until firm and cooked through.

    45 min
  4. Step 4: Meanwhile fry 2 onions in half of 1 ⅜ oz butter for 12 minutes until golden. Melt the rest of 1 ⅜ oz butter.

    12 min
  5. Step 5: Serve the dumplings with 1 ⅛ lb mashed swede (kålrabistappe), the onions and melted butter.

Nutrition per serving

Calories
520 kcal
Protein
11 g
Carbs
74 g
Fat
20 g
Fibre
7 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

K
Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does raspeballer take?
About 90 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?
4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it vegetarian?
Yes. It has no meat or fish.
What can I use instead of potatoes?
Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
What can I use instead of potatoes?
Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).

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