top of page
kalapyorykat in cream sauce with spring vegetables
Kalapyörykät

White fish dumplings in cream sauce

I'm mixed on this recipe. And I thought, should I even post a recipe I'm unsure about?  But this blog is about learning, not being perfect.

The kind of white fish available in Finland is not the same here, but I used something close-ish: MN bluegills. The sauce is delicious but the fish dumplings themselves... I could improve the texture. I added potato in mine, but they might benefit from a binder of flour as well. Makes 2-3 servings.

Kalapyörykät Ingredients

​​For the fish dumplings

  • 12 bluegill filets (or 2 filets of cod, haddock etc.)

  • ​The whites of 2 eggs

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper

  • 1 tbs fresh dill (chopped)

  • 1/2 of a boiled potato, mashed (save the other half for below)

For the stock

  • The "butts" of 2 bunches of celery

  • The peels of 2 carrots (see below for the use of the peeled carrot)

  • 6 cups of water

  • Salt to taste

  • 1/2 cup of white wine

​For the sauce & veg

  • 1 cup chopped carrots

  • 1 cup of peas

  • A handful of celery leaves

  • 2 tbs butter

  • 1/4 cup flour

  • 1/2 onion

  • 1/2 diced potato

  • 1/2 cup white wine

  • 2 tbs fresh dill

  • 1 cup of heavy cream

  • A dash of allspice

  • Salt to taste

Method

First you need to make a stock to boil the dumplings in and use in the sauce. Boil the 6 cups of water with the celery butts, carrot peels, salt, and 1/2 cup of white wine. Boil for at least 30 minutes until a golden stock develops.

Strain out the veggie scraps and put back on the heat to boil. Peel and dice a potato, chop your carrots, and add them into the pool along with the peas. Let it cook fully. Set aside 1 half of the potato for the sauce and mash the other half for the dumplings. Remove other tender vegetables and set aside.

In a food processor pulse the fish filets into a paste. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the mashed potato, egg whites, salt, white pepper, and dill. Put it in the freezer for 20 minutes (just to firm up)

Bring your stock to a boil again and start forming your fish paste into balls (lol). Drop them in and let them boil for five minutes. They will start to float when done. Remove from the stock and set aside.

In a separate pan (ideally a deep one) start sautéing your onion in the 2 tbs of butter. Once translucent, add the 1/4 cup of flour. Mix together as well as you can into a cooked paste.

Start ladling scoops of the stock into the roux and whisk it to remove lumps. Add only enough stock to keep it thick, you may not need it all. Likely 3 cups. It's going to be a sauce not a soup.

Whisk in the cup of heavy cream and add your dash of allspice, the dill and celery leaves.

Bring all your vegetables back and throw them in with the fish balls. Gently stir to not break up the dumplings. Serve when combined!

Notes:

I'm wondering if these would turn out better for me with a different type of fish. Using a MN panfish will yield a sort of soft fish dumpling. Not firm, very tender. In the cream sauce it tastes rather good but it's the texture of the dumpling here I think needs work. 

bottom of page