Going by just a few completely different names, these bread dumplings are widespread in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and—maybe surprisingly—Italy. Though this distinctive dish didn’t originate in Italy, it matches completely into the traditions of Italian delicacies and is a fully scrumptious deal with that we predict everybody ought to strive a minimum of as soon as.
One of the crucial conventional methods to arrange canederli is to prepare dinner and serve them in a vegetable or meat broth. Our favourite model, nonetheless, is made with a butter, sage, and speck sauce, which is what we’ve got offered beneath.
For this recipe, you’ll wish to use a semi-stale bread. It shouldn’t be rock arduous, but additionally not contemporary out of the oven—about 2 to 3-day-old bread ought to be excellent. As at all times after we name for bread in a recipe, it ought to be good, actual bread, made with nothing greater than flour, water, salt, and yeast.
Equally, the breadcrumbs ought to be contemporary breadcrumbs, that means from bread that isn’t fully stale and arduous but. Keep away from dry, crunchy crumbs and search for some which are nonetheless a little bit gentle. These will be tough to search out in a retailer, however you may simply make your personal by mixing some bread that’s not more than 2 or 3 days previous.
As at all times in Italian delicacies, keep away from any added flavors or substances in breadcrumbs. No herbs, no garlic, no salt. Simply plain bread.
As a result of each bread varies, and the extent of staleness has a huge impact on the ultimate outcome, you’ll seemingly want to regulate the substances to get the correct dough consistency. The dough ought to be gentle and moldable, fairly sticky, however not too moist. It’s possible you’ll discover that you just want a little bit extra breadcrumbs to soak up additional moisture, or rather less in case your dough is drier.
Speck is a elementary ingredient for making canederli. It’s a sort of chilly lower, resembling prosciutto, however with a very completely different taste resulting from how it’s seasoned, smoked, and aged. For this recipe, you’ll want some chopped speck for the dough, plus some paper-thin slices for the sauce.
When offered, speck often comes sliced very skinny (like prosciutto crudo). It may be tough to discover a thicker piece for the chopped portion, and for those who can’t discover it, simply roughly chop some “regular” slices as an alternative.
Whereas prosciutto crudo appears to be like comparable, don’t assume that it’ll make a very good substitute. Prosciutto turns into extraordinarily salty when cooked and received’t even come near the actual taste canederli ought to have.
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For this recipe, you will want:
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3.5 ounces (100 grams) semi-stale bread, lower into 1-inch cubes
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⅔ cup (150 milliliters) complete milk
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1.75 ounces (50 grams) chopped speck for the dumpling dough, plus 1.75 ounces of sliced speck for the sauce
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1 massive egg
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⅓ cup (30 grams) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
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1 to 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
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A pinch of grated nutmeg
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Recent black pepper
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Salt
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Recent breadcrumbs, as wanted
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2 to three tablespoons (30 to 45 grams) unsalted butter
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6 to eight contemporary sage leaves
Place the bread right into a shallow dish and add the milk. Give the milk about half-hour to soak into the bread (we advocate stirring every so often for even distribution).
In a big mixing bowl, mix the soaked bread, chopped speck, egg, grated cheese, chopped parsley, nutmeg, a pinch of pepper, and a beneficiant sprinkle of salt. Combine all collectively completely by hand. The dough ought to be strong sufficient to mildew and form, nonetheless fairly sticky, however not too moist. If wanted, combine in some breadcrumbs to take in additional moisture. Let the dough relaxation for 15 to half-hour, lined.
Scoop a small handful of dough into your hand and roll it right into a ball. It ought to be like a big meatball. The dimensions will be adjusted to your style, however ought to be round 1 ½ to three inches (3.5 to 7.5 cm) in diameter. Set the dumpling apart and repeat to form the entire dough into canederli.
Put a big pot of water on to boil and salt it generously. Whereas the water heats, lower the sliced speck into brief strips. Mix the butter, sage, and speck strips in a big non-stick pan over low warmth. Soften the butter and proceed to warmth on low till it begins to brown barely and the speck begins to curve and crisp, then flip off the warmth.
When the water involves a rolling boil, place the dumplings into the pot and really gently give them a stir to stop sticking. Let the canederli boil till the dumplings float to the floor of the water, at which level they’re cooked.
Flip the warmth below the butter pan as much as medium. Utilizing a slotted ladle, switch the canederli into the pan. Gently toss all collectively till the pasta begins to brown barely. Serve instantly, topped with the speck, sage leaves, and any additional butter there is likely to be within the pan.
