Canederli in Broth: Recipe from The South Tirol

Method7 steps · about 3 hr 10 min

1. 1

   Step 1: Cut the stale bread (8-10 slices) into small cubes. Mix with the 200 ml milk and two lightly beaten eggs, cover and let the bread soak for up to 2 hours, stirring a couple of times. Once the warm milk has cooled, keep the soaking mixture in the refrigerator until needed.

   Bread soak: up to 2 hours · 120 minUses 8-10 slices stale bread (quite thick) · 200 ml warm milk (1 cup) · 2 eggs (lightly beaten)

   
2. 2

   Step 2: Have 2 L ready-made or previously prepared beef, chicken or vegetable broth (2 L) ready. If using homemade broth, strain it before cooking the dumplings.

   Uses 2 L broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable)

3. 3

   Step 3: Cut the speck into small cubes and peel and finely chop the onion (1). Cook the speck and onions in olive oil (1 tbsp) and butter (30 g) for 5 to 8 minutes in a skillet over a medium heat, or until the speck starts to crisp. Pour off and discard fat. Set pan aside to cool.

   Cook speck and onion · 8 minUses 200 g speck or bacon, cut into small cubes · 1 onion (peeled and finely chopped) · 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil · 30 g butter

   
4. 4

   Step 4: Using your hands, mix together the pre-soaked bread with the onions and speck, grated parmigiano (50 g), 4 to 5 tablespoons of chopped parsley, salt, black pepper and nutmeg (1/4 tsp). Add the flour and mix again. Leave the mixture to rest for 30 minutes.

   Rest dumpling mixture · 30 minUses pre-soaked bread and egg mixture · cooled speck and onion mixture · 50 g grated Parmigiano · 4–5 tbsp chopped parsley for the canederli mixture · salt (to taste) · pepper (to taste) · 1/4 tsp nutmeg (grated) · 40 g all purpose flour (1/3 cup 1.5oz)

5. 5

   Step 5: Form soft balls from the canederli mixture of about 8-10 cms in diameter (3-4 ins) (You can make balls bigger or smaller but you may need to adjust cooking time.) Place the dumplings on a floured surface until you have made them all.

   Uses canederli mixture, formed into soft 8–10 cm balls · Extra flour for dusting the work surface; amount unspecified

6. 6

   Step 6: Bring the broth to a simmer and drop the canederli, one at a time, into the heated broth. Don’t overcrowd the pan. You may have to do them in batches and keep warm while you cook the rest. Simmer the dumplings for 15 minutes, or until each turns slightly yellow and rises to the top. Remove balls carefully with a slotted spoon.

   Simmer canederli · 15 minUses Filtered broth prepared in step 2 · Dumplings formed in step 5; simmer in batches

7. 7

   Step 7: Serve one or two dumplings per bowl, covered with heated broth. Garnish with remaining parsley and more grated parmigiano.

   Uses One or two dumplings per bowl with heated broth · Remaining 1–2 tbsp from the 6 tbsp total, for garnish · Optional extra grated Parmigiano for serving