Semmelknödel (German Bread Dumplings)

Ingredients

• 350 g white bread, stale and cut into 1 cm cubes
• 3 dl milk
• 1 onion, very finely diced
• 40 g butter
• 4 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 3 egg
• 30 g wheat flour
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper

Method

1. 1.

   Soak the bread in warm milk — Put the bread cubes in a large bowl. Warm the milk until steaming but not boiling, pour it over the bread and turn everything gently. Leave for 20 minutes, until the cubes are soft but still hold their shape.

2. 2.

   Soften the onion and parsley — Melt the butter in a small frying pan and cook the onion over medium-low heat for 7-8 minutes until soft and translucent without browning. Stir in the parsley for the last 30 seconds and scrape it all over the bread.

3. 3.

   Bind the dumpling mixture — Add the eggs, flour, nutmeg, salt and pepper and work the mixture with your hands until it comes together as a moist, sticky mass that just holds a shape. Let it rest for 10 minutes so the bread finishes absorbing.

4. 4.

   Roll tight dumplings — Wet your hands and roll the mixture into eight tight dumplings the size of a small orange, pressing firmly and smoothing over any cracks — a crack is where a dumpling breaks open in the water.

5. 5.

   Poach at a bare shiver — Bring a wide pot of salted water to the boil, then drop the heat until the surface only shivers. Lower in the dumplings and poach uncovered for 18-20 minutes; they will float up after a few minutes and swell slightly.

6. 6.

   Drain and serve with gravy — Lift the dumplings out with a slotted spoon, let them drain for a moment and serve straight away with a roast and plenty of gravy — they are built to soak it up.