Paliushky (potato dumplings)

What it is

Paliushky are potato dumplings that are characteristic of Galician cuisine. Boiled potatoes are mashed into a puree, mixed with flour, salt, and sometimes an egg, rolled into logs, and cut diagonally into pieces the size of a finger. Hence the second name - 'fingers'.

Paliushky are boiled in salted water for just a few minutes after they float to the surface and are immediately dressed with cracklings, fried onions, butter, sour cream, cheese, or bryndza. The key is not to overdo it with flour: otherwise, they turn out soft rather than rubbery.

In Romualda Tarnawska's book 'Galician Vegetarian Cuisine', paliushky are rolled in breadcrumbs and fried in butter, while in Boyko villages, pumpkin puree and corn flour are added to the potato dough. A similar dish is known in Poland under the name kopytka.

Paliushky can be served as a standalone dish or as a side; for the dough, it is recommended to use cooled, even yesterday's boiled potatoes.

History and name

The name belongs to the Galician culinary lexicon. Researcher Marianna Dushar classifies paliushky as dishes common to Lviv and Krakow, alongside lazanki, potato pancakes, and yariny soups.

This dish is part of both urban and rural cuisine in Galicia, not tied to the mountains. Today, recipes for paliushky are published by Yevhen Klopotenko and other chefs, and the paliushky themselves are served in establishments specializing in Galician cuisine.

Ingredients and allergens

Variant: with cracklings and onions

Potato1 kgIn the mountains, potatoes are called bulba, ripa, bandurky, or kompyr — the basis for riplianka, deruny, and pies.

Wheat flour150–300 gFor the dough of varenyky, palačinky, bobalyok, and pasky.Contains allergens: gluten

Pork cracklings100–150 g, to serveRendered pieces of fat — a classic accompaniment to banosh, kulesha, and pies.

Onion1 pc., to serveFried onion in lard or oil is a common seasoning in Carpathian dishes.

Eggs1 pc., optionalChicken eggs — for the dough of hombovtsi, palačint, pasky, and deruny.Contains allergens: eggs

Sour creamto taste, optionalThick homemade sour cream is the base for banosh and machanka, a common dressing for Carpathian dishes.Contains allergens: milk

Also: salt (to taste)

Contains allergens: gluten
Depending on how it is served, may contain: milk, eggs

Variant: with bryndza and butter

potato, wheat flour, eggs, bryndza (sheep cheese), butter, salt

Contains allergens: gluten, milk
Depending on how it is served, may contain: eggs
Diet: vegetarian

Variant: boyko-style fingers with pumpkin

potato, pumpkin, potato starch, corn flour, eggs, butter, hard cheese, salt

Contains allergens: milk, eggs
Diet: vegetarian · gluten-free by ingredients; traces possible

Ingredients of the traditional recipe; every cook and every place may do it differently — please ask when ordering. We cannot guarantee the absence of allergens or traces.

How it is traditionally made

Serves: 4 servings · Preparation: 20 min · Cooking: 5 min

• Potato — 1 kg
• Wheat flour — 150–300 g
• Eggs — 1 pc.
• Salt — to taste
• Pork cracklings — 100–150 g
• Onion — 1 pc.
• Sour cream — to taste

1. Boil the potatoes (preferably with the skin on or the day before) and let them cool: hot potatoes absorb too much flour.
2. Mash or press them into a puree, add salt, an egg, and gradually mix in the flour until the dough no longer sticks to your hands.
3. Divide the dough into portions, roll into logs about 2–3 cm thick, and cut diagonally into pieces the width of a finger.
4. Boil in small batches in salted water for 2–3 minutes after the paliushky float to the surface.
5. While they are boiling, render the cracklings and fry the onions in them.
6. Remove the paliushky with a slotted spoon and immediately mix with the cracklings and onions.

How it is served

Hot, with cracklings, fried onions, and sour cream; or with butter and grated bryndza or cheese.

Variants

Romualda Tarnawska adds fried onions, parsley, and breadcrumbs to the dough and fries the paliushky in butter. In the Boyko variant, pumpkin puree, starch, and corn flour are added to the potatoes, and they are served with melted butter and grated cheese.

The traditional method as described by our sources; every family does it its own way. We have not tested this recipe in a professional kitchen.

Where it is eaten

The area is approximate and based on the sources below. The dish is cooked outside it too, and ethnographic borders are blurred.

Lviv region and all of Galicia; urban and rural cuisine, not mountain. Finger-shaped dumplings with pumpkin are also recorded in the Boyko region.

When it is eaten

Occasions: Everyday food

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