Škubánky

Step 1: Put 2 ¼ lb floury potatoes, 1 tsp salt and 2 cups water in a wide pot; the water should come only halfway up. Cover, bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes, until just tender.

Step 2: Pour off and keep about half the water. Tip 7 oz plain flour on top of the potatoes in a mound and poke 5–6 holes right through it to the bottom with the handle of a wooden spoon.

Step 3: Cover tightly and cook over a very low heat for 20 minutes without lifting the lid, until the flour looks damp and cooked through.

Step 4: Mash the potatoes and flour together hard with a masher, then beat with a wooden spoon, adding a little of the kept water if needed, until you have a smooth, heavy dough with no white streaks.

Step 5: Mix 2 ⅞ oz ground poppy seed, 2 ⅛ oz icing sugar and ½ tsp ground cinnamon on a plate. Melt 2 ⅞ oz butter in a small pan over a medium heat for 3 minutes, until it foams and smells nutty.

Step 6: Dip a tablespoon into the hot butter, scoop off walnut-sized lumps of dough and roll them in the poppy sugar.

Step 7: Arrange on warm plates, pour over the rest of the brown butter and sprinkle with any remaining poppy sugar.