Czech cuisine is characteristic of having a number of sweet meals, the Czechs enjoy not only as a dessert, but also as a main course, such as Zemlovka (apple bread pie with quark and raisins), pancakes, crepes and, last but not least, traditional fruit-filled dumplings. While foreigners might be surprised being served a sweet dumpling, for most of the Czechs it is the taste of their childhood. Moreover, there is a whole range of different types of dumplings: plums are a perfect match for potato dough, apricots for cream puff dough, blueberries for yeast dough and strawberries… for quark dough!
Strawberry season starts in May and lasts until June. Though strawberries grown in greenhouses can be purchased all year round, their taste and smell is absolutely incomparable to those planted in small gardens and fields. You will enjoy them especially in simple and easy recipes, such as the following one. Remember not to cook your dumplings for too long time to keep the strawberries firm and juicy.

Procedure

Mix quark and flour in a large bowl, add eggs, oil and a pinch of salt. Knead until having smooth dough, let aside for some time. If the dough is too sticky, add some more flour.
Knead dough briefly to make little rolls of about 4 cm in diameter – push them slightly, put a strawberry on top and wrap it with the dough, making dumplings. Make sure strawberries are completely covered by the dough, so that the dumpling does not rip open while cooking.
Carefully put the dumplings into a casserole of boiling salted water and let simmer at low heat for about 5 to 8 minutes. When the dumplings get to the surface, they are ready. Take them out with a tablespoon. Serve with some melted butter, sour cream or grated quark and sugar.