Potato dumplings in Canada

Do you know that feeling? You're traveling in your dream destination, and everything should be perfect: You're finally there, in the country you've always wanted to see. It turns out to be much more beautiful than you expected. The landscapes are breathtaking. The people are warm and incredibly hospitable. The food is exactly what you expected. But wait! Suddenly, a longing for home cooking creeps in, something you hadn't anticipated.

How I got cravings for potato dumplings in Canada

Travel has been a part of my life for over thirty years. Since I earn my living through travel, I'm on the road almost all year round. Naturally, this has allowed me to discover and fall in love with many different cuisines.

And even today I still look forward to having fresh wild salmon from the fjords of British Columbia or a juicy prime rib from Alberta with horseradish sauce and baked potato on my plate.

Our food in Canada isn't limited to just that, though. Over years of traveling through Canada, I've discovered restaurants that serve dishes made according to imaginative recipes alongside these classics. So, our cuisine in our favorite North American country is anything but monotonous and boring.

 

 

Longing for potato dumplings

Nevertheless, I remember a trip many years ago when I suddenly had a craving for potato dumplings in Canada. You should know that when I eat out in Bavaria and Austria, I quite often choose my meals based on the side dishes. I love anything made with potatoes. That could be rösti, croquettes, potato pancakes, or French fries.

But my favorite thing is potato dumplings. That might be because of my Bavarian roots. Or maybe it's my mother's cooking. At home, we had a roast every Sunday. It always came with potato dumplings. I've been hooked on them ever since my first bite.

As a tour guide, I used to be away for months at a time, without ever going home. But this one trip I'm talking about was extremely long, even for me. Almost nine months straight, traveling in different countries around the world! That might sound appealing to some of you.

But this wasn't a vacation. It was my everyday work. And what ended up on the table was whatever was available in the country I was in. After nine months of eating in foreign cuisines, my craving for potato dumplings grew to almost unbearable proportions. Yet I knew it was nearly impossible to find potato dumplings in Canada.

I have never been so happy to find potato dumpling dough

This was back when I led adventure and camping trips, so we had to shop frequently. We could cook whenever we wanted. My gaze longingly wandered to the shelves in every supermarket where ready-made dough was offered: in Mexico, in the USA, and finally in Canada.

Everywhere I went, I had to move on, disappointed. Until we came to a tiny supermarket in the northern Rocky Mountains. The place was so small that I can't even remember its name. But what did I discover on the supermarket shelf? Potato dumpling dough!!!

 

 

Potato dumplings have never tasted better to me.

I don't know if you can imagine the joy that washed over me at that sight. Back at the campsite, we boiled a large pot of water, shaped the dumplings into round balls of dough, and cooked them in the simmering water until tender. We served them with goulash – not exactly in keeping with the original theme. It was the simplest thing we could manage with our camping cookware.

But what did that matter when my side dish consisted of potato dumplings? They've never tasted as good as they did back then at that campsite in northern Alberta. That's how I still remember my potato dumplings in Canada to this day.

Source: own photos and own experiences

Text: © Copyright Monika Fuchs, TravelWorldOnline
Photos: © Copyright Monika Fuchs, TravelWorldOnline