Canederli in brodo – Bread Dumplings in Broth

Christmas for me means the Swiss Alps with my family and hopefully with plenty of snow. Once there, I enjoy preparing the local dishes I have enjoyed since I was a child. Canederli is one of my favourites. 

Similar to the Austrian knödel - from which their name derives -, they are dumplings made with stale bread, soaked in milk and mixed with eggs, onion, pancetta, cheese, flour and herbs. The green version is with spinach. I like to mix the two colours and flavours. 

It is essential to leave the bread mixture to rest for a while – at least 30 minutes - before molding your canederli. That will give the ingredients the time to combine and hold together.

Canederli come in different sizes: the smaller ones – the size of a tangerine - are usually served in a clear soup, whereas the large ones – the size of an orange - are tossed in melted butter or served as an accompaniment to a stew.

Canederli in brodo – Bread Dumplings in Broth 

White canederli
200 g white stale bread
220 ml milk
1 large egg
100 g diced pancetta
1 knob of butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
30 g white flour
30 g of freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra to serve
A handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Nutmeg
Sea salt and black pepper
1.200 l vegetable stock
A tablespoon of chives, finely chopped
Green canederli
Add to the white mixture the following ingredients:
150 g fresh spinach, steamed and very finely chopped
Extra 20 g white flour
Extra 30 g grated Parmesan

Serves 4
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time 40 minutes

1. Dice the bread, crust included, and place in a large bowl.
2. Beat the egg in the milk and add to the bread. Leave to soak for 10 minutes.
3. Stir pancetta into the bread.
4. In a large frying pan, heat the butter and soften the onion with a pinch of salt on very low heat for 20 minutes, until translucent.
5. Add the onion, the flour, the parsley, the Parmesan and the nutmeg to the bread mixture and leave to rest for 30 minutes. Adjust the seasoning.
6. With your floured hands make dumplings, the size of a tangerine, and arrange them on a chopping board. You’ll get around 12 canederli.
7. In a large pan, bring the vegetable stock to the boil and leave to simmer. 
8. Gently add the canederli to the stock and cook for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with chives.
9. Serve hot with a sprinkle of Parmesan on top.