Strawberry-Rhubarb Dumplings

Put the quark into a fine sieve and let drain.

Rinse lemon, wipe dry and finely grate 1 teaspoon zest. Cut lemon in half and squeeze half. (Save other half for another use.)

Mix quark with flour, egg, butter, lemon zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar and 1 pinch of salt in a bowl. Quickly knead into a smooth dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse, dry and cut the rhubarb into thin slices. In a small pot, mix rhubarb with remaining vanilla sugar and 5 tablespoons of water. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Rinse strawberries in a bowl of cold water and gently dry with paper towels.

Set aside 6 of the prettiest berries. Puree the remaining strawberries in with an immersion blender and pass through a fine sieve.

Bring rhubarb mixture to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes over low heat. Allow to cool and mix with the strawberry puree. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and sweetener to taste.

Boil plenty of salted water in a wide pot. Cut the sugar cubes in half and chop pistachios.

Form the dough on a floured work surface into a log and divide into 12 equal pieces.

Flatten dough portions. Cut strawberries in half and top each dough piece with 1½ berries, then top with half sugar cube.

With lightly floured hands, wrap the dough around the filling to form 12 dumplings. 

Gently place strawberry dumplings in pot of boiling water and let simmer over medium heat for 12-15 minutes, turning once.