October 3rd
2006
Germany, especially its southern corner, Bavaria, has a deserved strong reputation for dumplings - in good company with its neighbors Austria or the Czech Republic. Sweet or savory, there's a breathtaking variety being offered in restaurants ranging from low to high end, as well as on a regular lunch table. A traditional holiday dinner in our family would not be complete without dumplings (of some sort) and it's simply impossible for me to understand how anybody can actually not love them.
Compared to other countries in the world, Germany is considerably smaller in terms of surface, but with probably an equal amount of peculiarities across the regions. How to tell whether someone is from the North or South? Let him or her order a side of dumplings and it may quickly show: People from North Germany would ask for "Klöße" while we Southerners -so to speak- refer to them as "Knödel". Definitely a regional thing. Hint: avoid ordering Schweinsbraten with "Klöse" in any traditional restaurant in Bavaria - the least you get is a raised eyebrows from a potentially grumpy Bavarian waitress. Who will possibly top it off with a murmured "Saupreiß" - a not so nice term for somebody from North Germany ;)
September is the best season to eat bread or pretzel dumplings, because now is the right time to not only serve them as a standard side to a superior roast, but as the clou, enthroned in the midst of a creamy chanterelle sauce - a dish you'll find in nearly each and every Bavarian restaurant during mushroom season. And it surely makes me feel like a kid again, back then, when dumplings with sauce ("Knödel mit Soße") was pretty much the only thing I wanted in restaurants...the picky eater I once was.
Remove the coarse salt from the dry pretzels (one or two days old). Cut them in slices or little cubes, the thinner, the better. Put in a large bowl with hot milk, briefly stir and let rest for half an hour until all pieces are soaked.
Heat the butter in a small pan, add chopped bacon and onion and sauté over medium heat for one or two minutes. Then add to the pretzel mix together with the two eggs, the chopped parsley and the spices. Knead thoroughly with your hands and season to your liking. If the mixture is too firm, add some more milk, if it is too soft, some breadcrumbs will help.
Bring water to a boil in a large pot, add a decent pinch of salt. Occasionally wet your hands with cold water (to prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers) and take a handful of the mix forming equally sized dumplings. Carefully let them glide into the now simmering water. Let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size.
Meanwhile prepare the chanterelle sauce: Clean the chanterelles, cut large ones in smaller pieces.
Heat the butter in a large pan, add the chopped shallot, sauté over medium heat for one or two minutes, then add the chanterelles. Stir-fry briefly, then deglaze with broth and double cream (or heavy cream). Refine it -optionally- with a dash of cognac or sherry and season to taste with salt, freshly ground black pepper and nutmeg. Add the chopped parsley just before serving.
Decorate the assembled dish with fresh chopped chives.
In case you have leftovers (dumplings only) - and we make sure to always have some - , keep them in the fridge over night (wrapped in foil). They're perfect for one of my favorite 5-minute-left-over-dishes: Slice and pan-fry them in butter together with chopped onions and bacon. Then add a couple of eggs, fresh chives and salt and pepper, stir until everything sets. Best served in the hot pan. This is what you will get on Bavarian menus under the term "Knödelgröschtl".
Pretzel dumplings with creamed chanterelle mushrooms
Recipe source: mum & grandma’s recipe
Prep time: 30min., cooking: 15-20min.
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Ingredients (yield: ~5 dumplings):
200-250g old pretzels(~4 small pretzels), sliced
150ml hot milk
1 tbsp butter
30g bacon, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 eggs
fresh parsley, chopped
salt, freshly ground black pepper, nutmeg
additional milk or breadcrumbs, if necessary
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Creamed chanterelle mushroom sauce (serves 2):
1 tbsp butter
1-2 shallots, finely chopped
250g chanterelles, cleaned
100-200ml vegetable broth
100ml double cream (or heavy cream)
optional: 2 tbsp cognac or sherry
salt, freshly ground black pepper, nutmeg
fresh parsley, finely chopped
for decoration: fresh chives, finely chopped
Those dumplings look so good. I love your pictures. Now i'm craving for lunch...
Hi, I'm reading this blog from the other side of the world - Sydney, to be precise - and I'm always wondering how you manage to cook such wonderful things AND to write about it - besides having to do loads of other things. According to the time difference of currently 8 hours, you must have submitted this post in the middle of the night or very early morning! Do you have any secret hint of time management you'd like to share?! I'm planning to start my own blog but often don't find enough time for all the stuff I want to do...
I've never seen anything like these, and they sound just delicious! Perfect for fall too, with the chanterelles and the toasty flavor of pretzels. Mmmm. Thank you for telling us about them...
I love the idea of using the pretzels!
Ah yes, thanks of reminding me that Semmelnknödeln are one of the few dishes quite easily made abroad when asked to cook "something German" out of the blue. Without German pretzels available I use international baguette from the day before.
(The other Bavarian dish that - up to now - I was able to make everywhere is Kässpatzen.)
The food make me drooling... ^_^ I love anything go with mushrooms!
Obwohl ich Knödel liebe, habe ich mich noch nie selbst an welche rangetraut. Meine Lieblingsknödel stammen von meiner Großmutter, kennst Du "Halbseidene"? Mit einem anständigen Schweinsbraten, da gibt's nichts Besseres!
...called "Knödel" in all of Bavaria.
All of Bavaria? Not quite - one small region full of grumpy old men and women begs to differ: We call them "Kloß" in Franconia as well! (At least over here in "Oberfranken")
oh, great. national holiday, no shops open and the better half sitting next to me craving knödel mit soß....now what?
we both luuuuuuuurve the pictures - again. :-)
Mmmm, this looks yummy. I was in Prague this summer and tasted some very good ones, but have never tried to make any myself.
For those in NYC there's a wonderful Austrian restaurant in Park Slope, Brooklyn that serves all sorts of dumpling dishes. It's called Cafe Steinhoff and they do an AMAZING variation of Knödelgröschtl that I crave constantly. Making Knodel is wonderful and delicious, but sometimes it's easier to let someone else do the work!
"Kässpatzen" - I wouldn't like to eat at your place, Kaltmamsell. Perhaps you mean "Käse Spätzle"? "Spatzen" are small birds ... be careful who you try to serve that stuff to!
EDIT: Hi Melane, be assured, Kaltmamsell does mean "Käsespätzle". "Kässpatzen" or "Kaasspatzen" are just different slang expressions ;) Nicky
Would this work if I substitute other kinds of bread (say french)? I don't have any pretzels in the house but a lot of other bread (there's always a certain joy that comes with cooking from stuff already in the house). It looks so delicious I want to make it tonight!
EDIT: I'm sure you could use a 1-2 day old baguette just as well! Naturally they won't be Pretzel dumplings, but certainly a wonderful variation of bread dumplings - go for it! Nicky.
I never had Pretzel dumplings before, but your post makes me crave them! Mouthwatering photos, how do can you stand taking pictures of dishes looking so tempting?
Bratengröstel mit Knödeln gabs immer bei meinen Großeltern. Vielen Dank für das Rezept!!! Jetzt muß ich wohl mal selber ran!
Oh how I'd love to take a trip to the Land of the Dumplings! They're beautiful!
By now I should now, that visiting your site before lunch or dinner is not a good idea. I'm sure I can't find Knödelgröstel somewhere near my office ;(
wow, thats awesome. who would have thought. im going to a street vendor to get pretzle and makign this
Mmmm! Lecker!! I love Knödel!
Does it go well with Beer!!
We actually have a German baker who makes Brezeln here in Durham, North Carolina. I'm going to make these soon. I know someone has already mentioned it, but we encountered "Kloß mit Soß" in Nürnberg as well. It's interesting how strongly people feel about language. I had to smile at the "It's Spätzle, not Spatzen" post since a "Spätzle" is nothing more than a small "Spatz". "Spätzle" is also occasionally used as a term of endearment in Swabia.
Pretzels, dumplings and chanterelles, I love them all. 'Will have to try this one as soon as I can find worthy pretzels around here. Lovely pictures, as always.
Bring on the knodel - stayed in Southern Germany for a while and loved the food - beer and scenery.
g'roeste knoedel (of course not kloesse!) is one of my favourites, especially with eierschwammerlgulasch! (again, no pfifferling for me, please).
I've never tried to make them with stale pretzels, though, but assume that it must taste great... maybe you'll make it for me one day?
Besides baguettes, what other types of bread can you use to make this? It looks so delicious I'd love to make it, but it's hard to find pretzels here in Melbourne. (You mean the soft ones, right?)
I just made Klosse/knödel last week - and while the recipe I posted called them Klosse, my DH, who was born and raised in Augsburg, called them kartofellknödel. Well, maybe he called them g'roeste knödel. He likes them all-bread, potato, etc.
My German heritage is screaming that I WANT some of this. Wonderful recipe!
Knoedelgroescht was one of my favorite dishes while I was working in Germany (Allershausen). Thanks for bringing back wonderful memories and sharing the recipe. Maybe my wife will help me with it!
Nina, Good question. I'd say any non-sourdough bread which crust doesn't turn completely rock hard after 2-3 days could work - you can make a test batch (just the dumplings) to see what works and what doesn't. I'd love to know myself! In Germany we typically use old (=dry) bread rolls and Pretzels.
Johanna, I'm sure there will soon be an opportunity - at the latest in spring!! I can't wait ;)
Tony, you bet!
Iruka, The truth is, the dishes don't survive the (photo) shooting - and sometimes if one of us isn't fast enough there simply isn't anything left to shoot...
Hallo Simon, Logisch! Hat meine Oma väterlicherseits immer gemacht, superlecker, sollte ich vielleicht auch mal selbst ausprobieren?
Dear Eva, I wish I had! Seriously, I'm the last person to give secret hints about time management - simply because I'm pretty bad at it ;) My todo-lists never seem to shrink and I guess my days could have 48 hours, but I would still run out of time... My only advice: Sometimes it's good to step back and think about what is really important. And here is one of my favorite bookmarks about time management.
This is really interesting Nicky, thanks for sharing. The family I lived with in Essen called them Knödel too, but whatever you want to call them, they look delicious.
Caught this dish the day of it's posting, just got to making it tonight and i am glad I did, your recipes are always spot on and lecker! ;)
[...] Delicious Days: Pretzel dumplings with creamed chanterelle mushrooms [...]
Nina in Melboure, I make these with bread I buy at Bakers Delight bakeries. It is called penne de casa. Its heavier than most breads here in Australia and more like a German bread.
It's thorughly delicious, thanks!
I used Philadelphia soft pretzels, which are sold by the side of the road, and then used 1/4 of the dough as the filler to make meatballs.
First I boiled the dumplings, then the meatballs, then I reheated the dumplings in the sauce, and the meatballs in a different pan.
Its a gorgeous post--writing, photos and recipe. I grew up in a city known for its German heritage in the US. It's really great to see such a wonderful Bavarian dish and can't wait to try it myself. Thanks!