Kopytka

Name: Kopytka
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Poland
Ingredients: 1 kg floury potatoes; 250 g plain flour; 1 egg; 1 tsp salt; 400 g chopped tomatoes; 2 garlic cloves; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp sweet paprika; 1 tsp sugar

Local name: Kopytka

Polish potato dumplings cut into little diamonds from a soft dough, poached and folded through a paprika tomato sauce.

Published on 12 July 2026·Updated on 10 September 2026

#dumplings#potato#tomato#dough#sunday

Photo: MOs810 , CC BY-SA 3.0

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 45 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Medium

Method

Boil the potatoes whole in their skins for 30 minutes. Peel while warm and pass them through a ricer.
Spread the mash across the worktop and leave it for 10 minutes so the steam escapes.
Make a well, add the flour, egg and salt. Bring the dough together by hand and stop after a minute.
Roll ropes 2 cm thick and cut them on the diagonal into diamonds. Dust with flour.
Heat the oil, soften the garlic, then add the tomatoes, paprika, sugar and salt. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Poach the kopytka in salted simmering water. Lift them out 30 seconds after they rise and fold them into the sauce.

Every extra knead tightens this dough. Bring it together with your fingertips and stop the moment it holds, and the kopytka stay tender in the water.

The techniques this recipe uses

Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 503 kcal
Protein: 14.7 g
Fat: 5.9 g
Carbohydrate: 99.1 g
Fibre: 6.4 g

An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.

Frequently asked questions

My kopytka came out rubbery. Why?

The dough was overworked. It toughens with every pass of the hands: bring it together with your fingertips and stop the moment it holds, a minute at most. Developing the gluten is what makes gnocchi springy instead of tender.

Why let the mash cool before adding flour?

Ten minutes spread on the work surface lets the steam escape. Wet mash demands far more flour to hold together, and it is that extra flour that makes kopytka heavy.

How do I know when to lift them out of the water?

They float when cooked; give them another 30 seconds after they rise, then take them out. Longer and they waterlog and fall apart when they meet the sauce.

The tomato, three centuries to conquer the world
The tomato reached Europe in the sixteenth century and was distrusted for two hundred years. What each kitchen made of it, and the handling that matters.

Have you cooked this dish?

No ratings yet.

Give it a rating

More recipes from Poland

Poland⏱ 30 min

Chłodnik

A bright pink cold soup of beetroot and kefir, sharpened with dill and lemon, served with a halved boiled egg.

Easy·236 kcalGluten-free

Poland⏱ 45 min

Placki Ziemniaczane

Grated potato pancakes fried until the edges turn lacy and brown, served with sour cream as every Polish kitchen does.

Easy·355 kcal

Poland⏱ 70 min

Barszcz czerwony

A clear, sharp beetroot broth scented with marjoram, served scalding in a cup with small Polish dumplings.

Medium·175 kcalVegan