Spinach Canederli with Brown Butter
Also known as Knödel
There’s something about old recipes that I just love, and can’t wait to share this one with you. If you’ve ever been in the northern Italian region of Trentino, you’ve probably tasted Canederli. You might also have heard of them as Knödel, as they are known in German and Austrian cuisine. I used to eat these all the time when I was little and went skiing with my family. They are very tasty and filling — perfect for cold mountain weather.
The original version is made with speck, stale bread, eggs, milk and it’s either served in a broth or with melted butter. Let’s be clear: they are delicious, however personally I prefer this slightly less popular spinach version.
It is funny how some foods get immediately associated with an activity, in these little dumplings’ case that activity is a fun day skiing on the Alps. The reality however is quite less glamorous. This is a humble dish, made out of poor or leftover ingredients which makes the most out of what you have with the minimum possible waste. Canederli are a perfect example of this philosophy as the core ingredient is stale bread.
They are also remarkably ancient — Fun fact: if you ever visit Hocheppan Castle near Bolzano, you’ll find the oldest visual representation of Canederli. It’s a fresco that dates back to 1180 and shows a woman cooking and tasting Canederli with a rather transfixed expression. This means Canederli are more than 800 years old!
Knödelesserin
Lady Canederli
Ingredients that are as poor and tasty as they come.
Stale bread, a few greens, and as many calories as you can pack in a dumpling.
Ingredients
300g stale bread (I used sourdough)
350g spinach (weigh them raw)
2 eggs
Milk (enough to soak the bread)
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
Salt & Pepper
2 cloves of garlic
1 onion
1 handful of grated parmesan
To serve
200g butter
chives
grated parmesan
These quantities serve 4 people and make 10 Canederli
Step by step
Boil the spinach, drain it, put it in a colander and let it rest until it cools down
In a bowl, add the bread chopped into small pieces and cover with milk to soften it
With your hands, squeeze out all the excess water from the spinach and chop it finely
In a frying pan, sauté the spinach with the onion and garlic for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper
With your hands squeeze out all the milk from the bread. Quickly blitz the bread until is reduced into tiny pieces
In a bowl combine the spinach, bread, eggs, breadcrumbs, parmesan. Adjust seasoning and mix
With your hands, form 10 canederli. The rough diameter should be around 5 to 6cm
To serve
Place the butter in a deep pan and turn the heat up to medium high. Stir the butter while it melts
Keep stirring even when it starts foaming. After a bit you’ll see the colour changing as well as the smell. It will smell nutty and delicious
Use a metallic sieve to get rid of the little dark sediments
Bring a big pot with salty water to boil and drop in the canederli. They will take 10 to 12 minutes to cook
Serve with brown butter, a sprinkle of parmesan and a few chives
Tips & cheats
Squeeze, squeeze and squeeze again. Water from the spinach and milk from the bread can become your enemies really quickly if you don’t squeeze them out.
If the mix feels too sticky when you are shaping them, don’t add more flour or they’ll become chewy. Wet your hands with water instead and this will help with the shaping. You can also use oil if you prefer.
When they are ready, they will slowly ascend to the surface of your pot, just like gnocchi. It should take around 12minutes.
