Idrija Žlikrofi 🥟 with Bakalca 🇸🇮 (Slovenian Potato Dumplings)

Description

Delicate hat-shaped potato dumplings filled with marjoram-scented mash, served with a slow-cooked lamb ragù called bakalca—buttery, herby, deeply comforting. 🍖✨

Hook: Make once, freeze extras—fresh or from frozen, they cook in minutes and carry sauce like little champs. ⚡

Ingredients

• 🥟 Dumpling Dough
• 🌾 All-purpose flour: 300 g (2½ cups / 10.6 oz)
• 🥚 Egg: 1 large (50 g / 1.8 oz)
• 💧 Warm water: 90–110 ml (⅓–½ cup / 3.4–3.7 fl oz)
• 🧂 Salt: to taste (≈3 g / ½ tsp)
• 🧈 Melted butter or neutral oil (for kneading): 15 ml (1 tbsp / 0.5 fl oz)
• 🥔 Potato Filling
• 🥔 Floury potatoes, peeled: 600 g (4 cups / 21 oz)
• 🧈 Butter or lard: 30 g (2 tbsp / 1.1 oz)
• 🧅 Onion, very fine dice: 80 g (⅔ cup / 2.8 oz)
• 🌿 Dried marjoram (classic): 1 g (1 tsp / 0.04 oz)
• 🧂 Salt: to taste (≈6 g / 1 tsp)
• ⚫ Black pepper: 0.5 g (⅛ tsp / 0.02 oz)
• 🥚 Egg yolk (to bind, optional): 1 (18 g / 0.6 oz)
• 🍖 Bakalca (Lamb Ragù)
• 🫒 Olive oil or lard: 30 ml (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• 🧅 Onion, fine dice: 250 g (1⅔ cups / 8.8 oz)
• 🥕 Carrot, fine dice: 100 g (¾ cup / 3.5 oz)
• 🌿 Celery stalk, fine dice: 80 g (⅔ cup / 2.8 oz)
• 🧄 Garlic, minced: 6 g (2 cloves / 0.2 oz)
• 🐑 Lamb/mutton shoulder, small cubes: 600 g (1.3 lb)
• 🍷 Dry white wine: 200 ml (¾ cup + 1 tbsp / 6.8 fl oz)
• 🍅 Tomato paste: 20 g (1 tbsp / 0.7 oz)
• 💧 Beef/veg stock or water: 500 ml (2 cups / 17 fl oz)
• 🌿 Bay leaf: 1
• 🌿 Marjoram or thyme: 1 g (1 tsp / 0.04 oz)
• 🧂 Salt: to taste (≈10 g / 1¾ tsp)
• ⚫ Black pepper: 1 g (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• (Optional thickener) 🌾 Flour: 8 g (1 tbsp / 0.28 oz) whisked into 30 ml (2 tbsp) cold water
• To Serve
• 🧈 Melted butter, for tossing: 20 g (1½ tbsp / 0.7 oz)
• 🌿 Parsley, finely chopped: 1 tbsp (4 g / 0.14 oz)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Filling: Boil 🥔 potatoes in salted water until tender; steam-dry and mash smooth. In a pan melt 🧈 butter, gently soften 🧅 onion 5–6 min. Stir into mash with 🌿 marjoram, 🧂 salt, ⚫ pepper (and 🥚 yolk if using). Cool completely.
2. 2️⃣ Dough: Mix 🌾 flour and 🧂 salt; add 🥚 egg and enough 💧 water to form a soft, elastic dough. Knead 5–7 min, finishing with 🧈 butter/oil. Wrap and rest 20 min.
3. 3️⃣ Shape žlikrofi: Roll dough to ~2 mm. Cut 5–6 cm squares. Place a hazelnut-size ball of filling in the center; fold corner-to-corner (triangle), pinch edges, then bring the two long corners together to form the little “hat.” Keep covered.
4. 4️⃣ Bakalca: Brown 🐑 lamb in 🫒 fat 5–7 min; remove. In the same pot sauté 🧅, 🥕, celery 8–10 min; add 🧄 30 sec. Stir in 🍅 paste 1 min, deglaze with 🍷 wine. Return lamb, add 💧 stock, 🌿 bay & marjoram, 🧂/⚫. Simmer gently 50–60 min until tender (add a splash of water if needed). If you like thicker sauce, stir in the 🌾 flour slurry and simmer 3–4 min.
5. 5️⃣ Cook dumplings: Boil salted water. Drop žlikrofi; cook 3–4 min (from frozen: 5–6 min) until they float and are tender. Toss with a little 🧈 butter.
6. 6️⃣ Serve: Spoon žlikrofi into warm bowls; ladle over bakalca. Finish with 🌿 parsley.

Total Time

🕒 Prep: 40 min
🔥 Cook: 1 h 10 min
⏳ Total: ~1 h 50 min

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