These Canederli are Italian bread dumplings originally from South Tyrol in Northern Italy, a recipe also known as Knödel in the German language. They are big bread dumplings boiled in stock made with stale bread mixed with milk, eggs, and speck, a cured smoked pork typical of the region. Round-shaped the size of a small orange, these bread gnocchi can be served in stock or with melted butter. This Canederli recipe perfectly exemplifies a sustainable, frugal meal from Italy's cucina povera tradition.
This dish is commonly found in the cuisine of Trentino, South Tyrol, and southeastern Germany, as well as in the culinary traditions of Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland.
These Italian dumplings are a peasant tradition made with affordable and accessible ingredients for the rural population in the mountains of Trentino-Alto Adige.
Different variations of this peasant dish can be made with speck, veal liver, or cheese, all products farmers would produce themselves.
Some version of these dumplings uses white bread, others a rye bread typical of the region.
This recipe is for the Canerdelli Tiloresi, made with white bread and speck.
While it is typically served as a first course, it can also be enjoyed as a side dish to Trentino gulasch, game stews or Hausplatte (house plate).
For more gnocchi recipes made with different main ingredients, you can check the recipes: Italian gnocchi, fluffy gnocchi, vegan gnocchi, Parisian gnocchi, Gnudi Malfatti, gnocchi alla Romana.
You can learn more about Trentino cuisine in the article History of Traditional Italian Food by Region.
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Ingredients
This recipe is the traditional version made with speck, other versions use cheese or liver.
However, all Canederli are made with simple inexpensive ingredients:
- Stale bread: this recipe needs to use old bread, not store-bought breadcrumbs. The stale bread still has some moisture and taste, while packaged breadcrumbs are too dry and flavorless. If I don't have leftover bread, I buy a large fresh bread and leave it druntilll the next day.
- Milk: here, I use half-fat, but whole milk is even better for its taste
- Fresh eggs: I have two chickens, so my eggs are always fresh
- Speck is a smoked cured pork meat from Trentino Alto Adige. You can replace it with smoked bacon, but not lean bacon, as the fat adds flavor. This recipe is traditionally made with cured meat produced by the farmer; therefore, any salami, bacon, or capocollo could be used.
- Flour and some extra flour for coating
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- Salt
- Finely grated fresh parsley or chive: it is important to use fresh herbs, not dried ones
- Meat broth: I always have homemade stock in the freezer. I make it in the pressure cooker to save time. You can read the articles: Homemade beef broth and homemade chicken broth. You can also make a beef consommé, clarified beef broth, for a better presentation.
Find the measurements in the recipe card.
Instructions
Preparing the bread mixture
- Break the eggs in the milk
- Mix until they are combined
- Cut the stale bread into small cubes
- Blend some bread with the finely chopped parsley
Hint: In this recipe, I blend the parsley with the bread as it absorbs the moisture from the parsley and chop it finely. You can chop the parsley by itself, keeping the bread in small cubes instead
- Add the milk and the eggs to the bread mixture
- Add the speck and any other pork meat cut into tiny chunks
- Season with salt and freshly grated nutmeg
- Add a few tablespoon of flour to firm up their consistency
- Stir with a fork until it is roughly combined
- Mix with your hands until the mixture is compact but still soft
Hint: for better flavor, you can make it the day before or let the canederli mixture rest for a couple of hours
Boiling the canederli
You can serve the Canederli in broth or dry and seasoned with melted butter.
You can boil them in salted water instead of broth if you serve them dry.
- Warm up the broth or salted water in a large pot
- With wet hands, form compact balls about 2.5 in - 6 cm
Hint: the mixture's consistency depends on the bread you are using. Add more flour if you think it is too fluid or more milk if too compact. First, place one ball in the broth to test its consistency.
- Coat them with flour
- Boil in a gentle simmer for 20 minutes
Hint: It is important that the simmering is very gentle, as vigorous boiling can break the balls
How to serve them
As they are quite filling, plan to serve two or three canerdeli per person.
To serve them in broth as a first course:
- Pour the broth into a soup bowl and serve the canederli at the table in the broth.
- You can top them with thin-sliced chives or parsley
Dry Canederli are topped with melted butter and served as a first course or a side dish to Trentino gulasch, game stews or Hausplatte (house plate).
Vegetarian variation
There is also a vegetarian version of the canederli, where the speck is replaced with butter or cheese.
For cheese you can use fontina, asiago, edamer or gorgonzola. Do not use mozzarella or stringy cheese, as they release water when cooking.
To add more flavor, you can also add chopped onion.
You can serve them in vegetable broth, with melted butter and sage or with tomato sauce.
Storage
You can store the canederli in the fridge for up to 3 day, although it is best to remove them from the broth; otherwise, they will soak too much liquid.
Top tip
- In this recipe, I blend the parsley with the bread as it absorbs the moisture from the parsley and chop it finely. You can chop the parsley by itself, keeping the bread in small cubes instead.
- For better flavor, you can make it the day before or let the canederli mixture rest for a couple of hours.
- It is important that the simmering is very gentle, as vigorous boiling can break the balls.
- Place one ball in the broth to test its consistency. The mixture's consistency depends on the bread you are using. Add more flour if you think it is too fluid or more milk if too compact.
- You can boil them in salted water instead of broth if you serve them dry.
- Dry Canederli are topped with melted butter and served as a first course or a side dish to Trentino gulasch, game stews, or Hausplatte (house plate).
- As they are quite filling, plan to serve three canerdeli per person.
- Different variations of this peasant dish can be made with speck, veal liver, or cheese, all products farmers would produce themselves.
- Some version of these dumplings uses white bread, others a rye bread typical of the region.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with dry Canederli:
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📋 Italian Bread Dumplings Recipe (Knödel)
Ingredients
- 9 oz Stale white bread
- 1 cup Whole milk
- 3 Fresh eggs
- 7 oz Speck or smoked bacon or salami
- 1 cup Flour
- 1 pinch Freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ cup Finely chopped fresh parsley or chive
- 6 cup Meat broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Preparing the bread mixture
- Break the eggs in the milk1 cup Whole milk, 3 Fresh eggs
- Mix until they are combined
- Cut the stale bread into small cubes9 oz Stale white bread
- Blend some bread with the finely chopped parsley½ cup Finely chopped fresh parsley or chive
- Add the milk and the eggs to the bread mixture
- Add the speck and any other pork meat cut into tiny chunks7 oz Speck
- Season with salt and freshly grated nutmeg1 teaspoon salt, 1 pinch Freshly grated nutmeg
- Add a few tablespoon of flour to firm up their consistency1 cup Flour
- Stir with a fork until it is roughly combined
- Mix with your hands until the mixture is compact but still soft
Boiling the canederli
- Warm up the broth or salted water in a large pot6 cup Meat broth
- With wet hands, form compact balls about 2.5 in - 6 cm
- Coat them with flour
- Boil in a gentle simmer for 20 minutes
How to serve them
- Pour the broth into a soup bowl and serve the canederli at the table in the broth.
- You can top them with thin-sliced chives or parsley
Video
Notes
- In this recipe, I blend the parsley with the bread as it absorbs the moisture from the parsley and chop it finely. You can chop the parsley by itself, keeping the bread in small cubes instead.
- For better flavor, you can make it the day before or let the canederli mixture rest for a couple of hours.
- It is important that the simmering is very gentle, as vigorous boiling can break the balls.
- Place one ball in the broth to test its consistency. The mixture's consistency depends on the bread you are using. Add more flour if you think it is too fluid or more milk if too compact.
- You can boil them in salted water instead of broth if you serve them dry.
- Dry Canederli are topped with melted butter and served as a first course or a side dish to Trentino gulasch, game stews, or Hausplatte (house plate).
- As they are quite filling, plan to serve three canerdeli per person.
- Different variations of this peasant dish can be made with speck, veal liver, or cheese, all products farmers would produce themselves.
- Some version of these dumplings uses white bread, others a rye bread typical of the region.
Nutrition
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