Canederli di Formaggio Trentini
Hearty Trentino bread dumplings bound with local mountain cheeses and served in warm broth or glistening with foaming sage butter.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 490 kcal
Equipment
- •Large mixing bowl
- •Small frying pan
- •Large saucepan
- •Slotted spoon
- •Chef's knife
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 490 kcal
- fat
- 26 g
- carbs
- 44 g
- fibre
- 3 g
- protein
- 21 g
- calories
- 490 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Place the cubed stale bread into a large, wide mixing bowl.
- 2
Melt twenty grams of butter in a frying pan and cook the onion over low heat until soft and translucent.
- 3
Whisk the milk, beaten eggs, nutmeg, salt, and black pepper together in a small jug.
- 4
Pour the egg and milk mixture over the bread cubes and toss gently with your hands.
- 5
Leave the bread to rest for twenty minutes until thoroughly softened but not completely mushy.
- 6
Add the diced mountain cheese, Trentingrana, softened onion, chopped parsley, and flour to the bread.
- 7
Knead gently with damp hands until a cohesive, slightly sticky dough comes together.
- 8
Shape the mixture with wet hands into eight compact, round balls about the size of small apples.
- 9
Lower the dumplings into a large pot of gently simmering salted water or vegetable broth.
- 10
Simmer very gently for fifteen minutes without boiling vigorously until the dumplings float and are heated through.
- 11
Melt the remaining butter with the fresh sage leaves in a small saucepan until foaming and lightly browned.
- 12
Lift the dumplings with a slotted spoon onto warm plates and spoon the hot sage butter over them.
Chef's tips
Always keep your hands wet with cold water when rolling the dumplings to keep the surface smooth. Simmer the water very gently, as a rapid rolling boil can cause the canederli to break apart. If the mixture feels too wet after resting, add a spoonful of plain flour; if too dry, add a tablespoon of milk.
Ingredient substitutions
- Spressa or Vezzena cheese → young Asiago, Fontina, or Gruyère, finely diced
- Trentingrana → Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano
Storage
Store cooked canederli in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days.
Reheating
Reheat by gently simmering in hot broth or steaming for five to eight minutes until hot to the core.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Boiling the cooking water too vigorously, which disintegrates the delicate bread dumplings.
- •Cutting the bread into overly large chunks, preventing the dumplings from holding a smooth spherical shape.
- •Skipping the resting time, which leaves dry pockets of hard bread in the centre.
Serving suggestions
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