The dumpling is part of everyday life in South Tyrol and can also be enjoyed on its own as a meal
The dumpling is a rewarding dish, which can be prepared in many different variations. In South Tyrol it usually has a round shape. Although bread dumplings are known and cooked, bacon, spinach, beetroot or cheese dumplings still have priority. The pleasant thing about dumplings and their preparation is that you can do almost nothing wrong. You only have to pay little attention to the consistency of the dough, that means to the ratio of liquid and solid ingredients.
A dumpling consists mainly of hard white bread cubes which are watered with a little water or milk. The bread should only be wetted. Now it is best to leave the bowl standing for a while. Later, one or two eggs (according to quantity) and melted butter are added and mixed up. Add salt, finely chopped stewed onions and minced parsley and the dough is ready. Just as you like you can add now spinach, cheese, speck, sausage or beetroot. At the end the mass is bound with some flour and now - knead well!
The dough should not be too wet but also not too dry, otherwise the dumplings will crumble during cooking. Now bring the water to the boil in a pot and form balls with your hands. If you dip your hands in warm water again and again, not too much dough sticks to your fingers. Put the balls carefully into the boiling water and let the dumplings simmer for about 15 minutes. Dumplings can also be frozen perfectly in their raw state and used as "fast food" if required. Attention: the cooking time is correspondingly longer.
