This week we are going to start a gastronomic tour of Italy. It is a fascinating journey through an array of flavours, some very well-known and much loved in the UK, like the Ragù Bolognese, and some completely obscure even to Italian people who are not of the area, such as the Gubana.

We start from a northern region, the Trentino Alto Adige, whose gastronomic heritage is linked with its closest neighbour, Austria, and especially with the former Austrian-Hungarian Empire, as the Trentino was once part of it: it is not uncommon for the local restaurants to serve a warm goulash!

I have chosen for this week an easy and tasty dish, especially loved by children, called Canederli: flavourful dumplings that are usually served as a starter in the cold winter nights. And a clever way to get rid of that half a loaf of stale bread too!

Canederli with speck (Knödel)

Ingredients for 4 portions (8 canederli):

  • 250gr of stale white bread
  • 150gr of Speck from Trentino Alto Adige
  • 2 eggs
  • 250ml of warm milk
  • 1 tbsp. of finely chopped onion
  • 1 tbsp. of softened butter
  • 2 tbsps. of chopped parsley
  • 1 tbsp. of chives, finely chopped
  • No more than 30gr of flour
  • Salt and pepper

To serve:

1 litre of beef stock

Method:

1. Cut the bread in small cubes of about 1 cm of side. The best bread to use is a baguette, a plain bloomer or sourdough bread, with the crust. If not stale, the bread can be sliced dried in the oven at 140˚C / gas mark 1 for about 45 minutes then switch off the oven and let the bread cool down inside it. However for better results use stale bread. Dice the speck (including the fat) in very small pieces of max 2-3mm long each side (bigger pieces will undo the canederli) and cut the bread in cubes of about half a centimetre long each side.

2. Melt the butter in a small pan and add the onion. Let it cook on low heat until it becomes translucent (it will take about 10-15 minutes) then add the speck and cook for a couple more minutes. In a large container, mix the bread with the onions and the speck.

3. Warm the milk to about 40˚C. Beat the eggs and carefully add the milk, whisking as you do it. Add the chopped herbs and pour it on the bread, onion and speck mixture. Add a little salt (not too much, as the speck is already quite savoury) and pepper to taste. Mix carefully and let it rest for about 15 minutes, for the bread to absorb the milk.

4. Add no more than 2 tbsps. of flour. If the mixture is still too wet, use breadcrumbs. Mix well. Wet your hands, take some of the mixture and form balls of the size of a clementine. Work the bread carefully: you don’t want the mixture to become a puree, you want to keep some texture.

5. If unsure  of the consistency of your canederli, before cooking them, form a small ball the size of a walnut and cook it. If it undoes, then the mixture is still too wet and you will need to add more breadcrumbs to it.

6. In a large pan, bring salter water to boil, then lower the temperature to a simmer. Add the canederli and let them cook for 15 minutes, being careful not to touch them when they cook, or they might undo. Remove them delicately with a slotted spoon or a small sieve, place them in individual bowls and cover them with some hot beef stock (better if homemade). Serve very hot with a dry red wine, ideally a Santa Maddalena DOC or a with a fruity rosè, such as Alto Adige Lagrein Kretzer.

Suggestions: Speck is a speciality dry- cured ham from the Trentino Alto Adige. It differs from other hams as it is slightly smoked and it is seasoned with spices such juniper and bay leaves. It has a very strong flavour, compared to the Parma ham. If struggling to find it, it can be substituted with Serrano ham. However avoid using Parma ham, as it is too sweet and mild and will result in rather bland canederli.

PS - Please join at Casa Roberta in St Mary's Road, Ealing where I will be giving cookery lessons.  Go here to book a place  .