Boxty dumplings with tomato sauce

Having made boxty crepes and boxty blinis during my Irish week, I wanted to turn the basic mixture of grated potato, mashed potato and flour to a different use. I therefore decided to make boxty dumplings, AKA boiled boxty.

The recipes I saw made me think of gnocci, but sounded a little… well… boring. I gather the traditional way, as detailed by Radio Ulster, involves simply frying the dumplings in butter. Another recipe I saw on CatholicCulture.org calls for a “sweet sauce,” which to me sounds unpleasant. So I decided to do an Irish-Italian fusion dish and serve my boiled boxty with tomato sauce. It turned out to be a good decision. My dumplings turned out chewy and indeed gnocci-like, and my kids loved them with the tomato sauce.

Boxty dumplings (boiled boxty) with tomato sauce

Serves 3-4 as a main, 6-8 as a side. Vegan if you leave off the Parmesan as garnish.

For the dumplings

• 1 cup grated raw potato, well wrung out (see instruction 1)
• 2 cups leftover mashed potato
• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour mix (I used Dove’s Farm plain white flour), plus extra for rolling out dumplings
• 1/2-1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• A little olive oil to prevent sticking

For the sauce

• 1 can/jar/carton chopped tomatoes
• 1 can/jar/carton passata/sieved tomatoes
• Generous handful chopped fresh parsley (plus extra to serve, optional)
• Generous handful chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar or wine vinegar (red or white)
• 1 teaspoon paprika, preferably smoked (or hot if you want it spicy)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional, to serve
• Freshly ground pepper, optional, to serve

1. Grate a raw potato (I left the skin on for extra fibre) and wring out well in a clean tea towel. (For more details, see my boxty pancakes recipe).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the mashed potato, grated potato, gluten-free flour, xanthan gum and salt. Knead until you get a smooth-ish dough with a texture akin to bread or pizza dough.
3. If you want to be traditional about it, make small balls. If you’re lazier, like me, divide the dough into four or five pieces and roll it out on a well-floured board until you get a snakelike shape about 2 cm to 1 inch in diameter. (If I understand correctly, this is how the rather well-known Dublin restaurant Gallagher’s Boxty House does it.) Cut into pieces about 1 cm to 1/2 inch wide.
4. Boil in salted water for about 10 minutes, until dumplings are cooked and float to the surface. Drain and toss in a little olive oil so the dumplings don’t stick together too much.
5. Meanwhile, make tomato sauce in a separate pot by mixing together all sauce ingredients except fresh herbs. Bring to the boil, then simmer until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and immediately stir in fresh herbs.
6. Serve dumplings with tomato sauce, grated Parmesan cheese, black pepper, and parsley to garnish (optional).