Poor cuisine or kitchen leftovers, soon considered delicious and suitable even for the finest palates. Because often the recipes and dishes of the past are renewed and adapted to modernity. This is the case of canederli, a typical dish from Northern Italy, which is part of the poor cuisine. Today we present the video recipe of canederli with gorgonzola, tasty and very rich, made by our partner "I love Italian food". But first a little history on this traditional peasant dish.
The dumplings, their origin
This typical dish comes from Southern Germany and in particular from Bavaria. But they are also very popular in Austria, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic. Called dumplings or knödel, they were once made with stale bread, milk, water and eggs. But it is said that dumplings have a very ancient history. It seems that they were already widespread around the year one thousand. And to testify it is a cycle of frescoes dated 1180 that is found in the chapel of the Hocheppan castle, near Bolzano. Looking carefully at one of them that represents the virgin giving birth, we notice a woman intent on checking a pot and tasting something. It is precisely the dumplings.
And there is also a legend that tells of Lansquenets mercenary soldiers who, arriving in a South Tyrolean house, threatened to ransack and burn it if they did not have food. The women then using leftovers they had at home such as bread, eggs, onions, speck, milk and flour, made a dough, then divided into small portions and cooked in water. The dish was served to the soldiers who were satisfied and even left the women a reward.
The numerous recipes
Dumplings can be great dish salty but also sweet. Many the variants of this specialty. From a single dish such as dumplings in broth or topped with melted butter and grated cheese, mushrooms or speck.
Here then is the video recipe of dumplings with gorgonzola made by Elena Temperani, for a project of I Love Italian food directed by Giacomo Galuzzi.
Preparation: put some oil in a pan and heat it with chopped onion. Sauté the onion and in the meantime cut the speck into strips. Also chop the parsley. In a pan, cook the speck. Put the stale bread in a bowl, add the milk and mix. Then add the onion, speck, parsley, egg, flour and mix the dough. Make the dumplings with the help of your hands. Bring the water to a boil, add the salt and cook the dumplings. For the seasoning: take the spicy gorgonzola, cut a slice and make cubes. Then heat a knob of butter in a saucepan and add the gorgonzola. Mix the two ingredients well until the sauce is ready. Place a little sauce on a serving dish and add the cooked dumplings, sprinkling some parsley on top.
The ingredients for four people: 250 grams of stale bread, 150 grams of speck, 2 eggs, 2dl of milk, a tablespoon of chopped onion, a tablespoon of butter, two of chopped parsley. For the dumplings you also need a little flour, salt and black pepper. For the gorgonzola cream: 100 grams of butter, 150 of spicy gorgonzola.
