Semmelknödel

‘Tis the season of roast dinner feasts approaching, so why not liven up your dinner plates this winter with some traditional Austrian bread dumplings?

We were treated to a delicious lunch recently, prepared by our good friend Eva, an excellent cook specialising in Austrian cuisine. Home-made dumplings, or Semmelknödel, were served as an accompaniment to a tender roast duck breast, with roast vegetables, braised red cabbage and greens. You can see my filled plate in the main photo at the top of the post.

I especially enjoyed the dumplings – they have a light, succulent consistency with delicate herb flavouring, and absorb the gravy juices from the meat. I’m pleased to say that Eva has agreed to share this old family recipe. Many thanks, Eva and Happy Christmas!

Servings

Makes 18 dumplings.

Timings

15 mins to prepare the mixture, then 1 hour for it to soak. Then about another 30 mins to shape and boil the dumplings.

You Will Need:

• 500g of dried white bread, which has to be cut into small 1-1.5cm cubes
• 4 large onions
• 2 eggs
• 500-750ml of milk
• Flour
• 120-150g of fresh chopped parsley

Method

1. Put all the bread cube pieces into a very large bowl.
2. Chop the onions and fry until slightly browned, then add to the bread cubes.
3. Add the milk, eggs and parsley, mix well together and let it stand for 1 hour so all the milk gets absorbed by the bread. Then cover with self-raising flour (you shouldn’t see any bread through the flour).
4. Work the flour into the mixture, it should feel firm and not too soggy. You can adjust with either more milk or flour if needed.
5. Start forming small dumplings (the mixture should make roughly 18 dumplings). Roll each individual one in flour (this will stop them from sticking to your hands or plate) and boil them in salted water, using a large enough pot to give them space for surfacing, after about 20 minutes of boiling.
6. You can either eat them straight away or freeze the rest (after having been cooked) for another day! They keep very well in the freezer!

Dumplings are served with any type of roast as an alternative to rice or potatoes. They go particularly well with Gulasch.

Eva has chosen the latest track for adding to the ADK playlist, nominating this happy festive song: José Feliciano with Feliz Navidad.