Komle: Norwegian Potato Dumplings
Komle goes by many regional names: klubber, raspeboller, or simply boller. They are slightly salty dumplings, served warm, and made with potatoes—Norway’s national vegetable. You will want to use large starchy potatoes instead of the small waxy varieties for this recipe.
I first tried komle during my early months in Norway and have been enjoying them ever since. Served with all the accompaniments, komle can be quite heavy, which makes it the perfect dish for winter or fall. Komle is traditionally served with buttermilk or a pilsner beer.
- 1 large (500-gram/~1-pound) pork knuckle or 2 medium lightly smoked ham hocks
- 2 medium (~170 gram/6 ounces) starchy potatoes, peeled, boiled, and mashed
- 6 medium (~500 grams/18 ounces) raw starchy potatoes, peeled and coarsely grated
- 85 grams (2/3 cup) barley flour
- 60 grams (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
- Accompaniments
- Shredded meat from the pork knuckle or ham hock
- Cooked sausage
- Cooked bacon, cut into bits
- Boiled rutabaga
- Melted butter
- Fill a large pot three-quarters full with water and set on high heat. When the water begins to boil, add the pork knuckle or ham hock and cook at a low or medium simmer for 1 hour. Remove the cooked meat and set it aside to cool. Retain the cooking liquid in the pot; it will be used to cook the dumplings.
- Using your hands or a piece of cheesecloth, squeeze the raw, grated potatoes to get rid of as much water as possible. Place the squeezed raw potato in a large bowl, add the remaining ingredients, and mix until well combined. The dough will look very wet at this stage but should clump together easily. If not, add a bit more flour to the dough until it clumps together easily.
- With wet hands, shape the dough into 6 small or 8 medium dumplings. If you like, in the center of each dumpling, stuff a small piece of shredded pork from the cooked pork knuckle or ham hock.
- Return the cooking liquid to boiling. With a slotted spoon, lower the dumplings into the boiling water one by one. Decrease the heat to a constant simmer. (If the water boils while the dumplings are cooking, they will fall apart.) Simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, until the dumplings float to the surface and are no longer raw in the middle.
- Serve the dumplings immediately with the accompaniments and/or some of the cooking broth. If you have leftovers, chill them overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, slice the dumplings into rounds, lightly pan fry in butter or bacon fat, and serve with any of the remaining accompaniments on the side.
Excerpt from “Thanks for the Food: The Culinary Adventures of an American in Norway”, Second Edition
Copyright 2014 © by Whitney Love
All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher.
The information contained in this book is based on the author’s personal culinary experience and study. The author cannot be held responsible for any hazards, loss, or damage that may arise as a result of any recipe use.
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Interesting. This sounds a lot like roskabøla. I wonder what the difference is?
I’m not sure…but I am definitely curious!
Oh, I’ve never had it with buttermilk! In Kristiansand where my mom’s family is from they call it Kompe, and it has the salty meat inside and is served with a generous helping of butter and sugar (my favorite way of eating it!). In Nordfjord where my father’s family is from they call it “Klubb”, it usually does not have the meat inside, instead sausage/salty meat and rutabaga is served on the side. Either way it is one of the ultimate comfort foods for me when it starts getting cold out.