Knödel pictures from Google search
The foodie posts are back for the rest of this month with the recipe to make delicious Knödel at home.
A little bit of context first. Having spent most of my teenage years in Bavaria, the love of Kartoffelknödel -potato dumplings- grew on me quite quickly. For one, I love potatoes -and I discovered many years later that Germans are huge consumers of this starch. On the other hand, even the Semmelknödel or bread dumplings tasted good. And that is the Bavarian specialty. Several regions/countries have their own concoctions of Knödel, some with meat, others with lard, or even fruits. Without further ado, please find hereafter the simple recipe for Semmelknödel or Klösse as they are referred to in Bavaria. It all starts with old/hardened bread...
5 hardened bread rolls or Semmel, diced - avoid using croutons: they are too hard!
3/4 cup yellow onions, diced
10 grams of butter
250 ml of milk
2 eggs, beaten with a fork
3 tbsp fresh parsley
Salt & pepper to taste
Freshly ground nutmeg
Soak the diced bread in hot milk for about 25 minutes in a large bowl or until the bread pieces are soft. Meanwhile, heat the pan, melt the butter, and cook the onions until they become translucent.
Mix the bread with the onions and the rest of the ingredients. If you want, you can add cooked bacon at this stage. Knead with your hands thoroughly until you have a soft and chunky-smooth consistency. If the mixture remains too wet, add bread and not flour. Wet your hands and form compact balls in your palms.
Get a large cooking pot and fill it with water and some salt. Bring it to a simmer. Make sure the water is not boiling: your dumplings should be carefully placed in the water with a slotted spoon to avoid them breaking apart. Leave the Knödel simmering for about 20 minutes. Water should be simmering at all times or the dumplings will lose their shape. Once cooked, lift the dumplings with the slotted spoon and place them on your serving plate.
You can serve the Semmelknödel with Sauerbraten, Rouladen, Hunter's schnitzel, ragout, German goulash, sausages, and different gravies and sauces such as mushroom gravy, turkey gravy, or onion gravy.
Knödels can be frozen to consume at a later stage. For this purpose, let them cool completely. Place them spread apart on a cooking sheet and freeze them for a few hours. You can then transfer them to a freezer bag or container. To consume, let them thaw and just reheat them a little while being covered to create some steam.
Bon appétit 😋😋
