Italian Dumplings (Canederli) in Broth: Recipe from Trentino-Alto Adige.
Italian dumplings (canederli) in broth is a delicious and easy way to use up stale bread. This is a signature dish from the beautiful South Tirol that is warming, comforting, filling and healthy! Simple Alpine food at its best!
Canederli in brodo.
Canederli are delicious large round dumplings made from a mixture of stale bread, flour, eggs and milk. These bread dumplings are traditional in Trentino-Alto Adige, the Alpine region in North East Italy that borders with Austria. In fact, canederli are also a signature dish on the Austrian side of the border too, although there they are usually called knödel.
For many Italians, canederli are a type of gnocchi and in fact, they are often called bread gnocchi. Away from the Trentino-Alto Adige/South Tirol region there are similar types of bread dumplings known as 'gnocchi di pane' which have practically the same ingredients. The only ingredient in this Italian dumplings in broth recipe that is quintessentially from the Alto Adige is the speck, specifically speck Alto Adige IGP.
What is speck?
Speck Alto Adige IGP is a distinctly flavored, smoked, cured ham which has a much fuller taste than Italian prosciutto crudo. It’s one of a number of Italian food products that has a European IGP certification, meaning that it is made in a specific geographical area according to traditional methods of production.
In fact, this speck is the most well-known food produced in and exported from the Alto-Adige or South Tirol. It is often used in cooking in Northern Italy. Apart from this canederli in broth recipe, I have another fried canederli recipe.
I also have posted a number of other recipes with speck such as fettuccine with speck and radicchio and orecchiette with zucchini and speck. However, it’s also eaten raw like prosciutto. I love it with horseradish!
Outside of Italy, speck can be harder to find and is more expensive than pancetta. But, this Italian dumplings in broth can be made with pancetta too. You can also use bacon, prosciutto, ham, spicy sausage or normal pork sausage meat.
What kind of broth is best?
Italians usually eat bread dumplings with a clear homemade broth. The broth can be beef, chicken or vegetable. I used homemade beef broth for this canederli recipe. You can check out how to make it in my recipe for homemade beef broth with grattoni pasta.
Some people boil the canederli in water first and then serve them in the broth. Others cook the canederli in the broth, which is what I did. You can make the broth a day or two before and keep it covered in the fridge. It’s also possible to cook these Italian bread dumplings in water or broth and then serve them with out of the broth with melted butter and grated parmigiano.
What kind of bread to use.
Italians use mostly white bread to make canederli. However, the slices need to be thicker than ready sliced white bread. So, it’s better to use something like a day old Italian loaf, ciabatta or country loaf. Here in Italy, we can buy stale bread cubes specifically for making bread dumplings! But, I used bread I had at home!
Making this canederli in broth recipe
The canederli for this Italian dumplings in broth recipe are easy to make but they take a little time as you need to let the bread soak in the eggs and milk for a couple of hours.
Then, once you add the cooked onions and speck plus the flour and parsley, you’ll have to let the mixture sit for another 30 minutes before forming the dumplings. However, canederli are well worth the wait. Cooking time is pretty fast, just 15 minutes.
Although canederli in broth is more of a comforting winter dish, I love it all year round. It’s a tasty and healthy dish that is filling enough to be a one plate meal. Plus it is, of course, a great way to use up stale bread!
If you do try this Italian canederli in broth recipe, I’d love to hear what you think. Please write a comment here on the blog or post a comment on the Pasta Project Facebook page.
Your feedback means a lot to me!
Buon Appetito!
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Canederli in Broth: Recipe from The South Tirol
Ingredients
- 8-10 slices stale bread (quite thick)
- 200 ml warm milk (1 cup)
- 200 g speck (7oz) or bacon cut into small cubes
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 1 onion peeled and finely chopped
- 50 g Parmigiano cheese (¼ cup 2oz) grated
- 40 g all purpose flour (⅓ cup 1.5oz)
- 30 g butter (1oz)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg grated
- 6 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 2 Lts beef broth (8.5 cups) or chicken or vegetable
Instructions
- Cut the bread into small squares and put it in a bowl. Add the milk and beaten eggs. Mix everything together and leave covered for up to 2 hours. Mix again a couple of time in the 2 hours.
- If making your own broth you can do it while the bread is soaking. The broth needs to be filtered before cooking the canederli in it.
- Cut the speck into small cubes and peel and finely chop the onion. Cook the speck and onions in olive oil and butter for 5 to 8 minutes in a skillet over a medium heat, or until the speck starts to crisp. Pour off and discard fat. Set pan aside to cool.
- Using your hands, mix together the pre-soaked bread with the onions and speck, grated parmigiano, 4 to 5 tablespoons of chopped parsley, salt, black pepper and nutmeg. Add the flour and mix again. Leave the mixture to rest for 30 minutes.
- Form soft balls from the canederli mixture of about 8-10 cms in diameter (3-4 ins) (You can make balls bigger or smaller but you may need to adjust cooking time.) Place the dumplings on a floured surface until you have made them all.
- Bring the broth to a simmer and drop the canederli, one at a time, into the heated broth. Don’t overcrowd the pan. You may have to do them in batches and keep warm while you cook the rest. Simmer the dumplings for 15 minutes, or until each turns slightly yellow and rises to the top. Remove balls carefully with a slotted spoon.
- Serve one or two dumplings per bowl, covered with heated broth. Garnish with remaining parsley and more grated parmigiano.
Tanja Rakovac says
Jacqui, thank you for your recipe and instructions. Your text and pictures are very suggestive. I will try this recipe today. All the best from Tanja, Rijeka, Croatia.
Leah says
Hi Jacqui,
Have a half dozen or so stale Kaiser buns. I cut them up to leave overnight to take out some of the moisture - ended up with a full colander of cubes. Would this be about double your recipe? Approx. how many cups (or how full of a baking bowl) does your recipe use?
Thanks! My husband is so excited to have these!
Jacqui says
Hi Leah, my recipes needs about 200-250g of stale bread cubes which would be about a cup. I hope that helps. Let me know how your canederli turn out. Buon appetito!
Linda Mazer says
My family made these using cooked bacon and cut up salami. They originated in Ronco, Italy. However, they often substituted crushed cracker crumbs instead of bread. They also included celery. We love them.
Anthony Acampa says
My dumplings fell apart in the broth. What could I have done wrong?
Jacqui says
Hi Anthony, thanks for your message. I'm sorry to hear your canederli fell apart. The only reason I can think of is that your canederli were too dry. That's what often causes them to fall apart. Of course ingredients can differ from place to place. It could be the type of bread or the size of the eggs. If you make this recipe again I would suggest using another egg.
Matt says
We often use salami and put pastina in our broth. much more fun then plain broth and ball
Chris says
My great grandparents came to the US from Trentino. And I remember my grandma and aunts making these. They pronounced it more like canedeli (no “r”). I never made them until I tried your recipe this week.
They were as good as I remembered. Maybe better. (Don’t tell my nonna.)
We used speck and bacon. (Didn’t have speck on hand to use it exclusively.). Boiled in and served with a beef-vegetable broth. (Clear, strained.)
Wish my dad was still around to enjoy these. He used to love them.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Ciao.
Jacqui says
Thank you for your message Chris. It gives me so much pleasure and satisfaction when readers tell me how these recipes bring back treasured memories. Food and family are two of the most important things for Italians. And it's amazing how interconnected they are, even across generations. I'm so happy you enjoyed this canederli recipe. All the best from Verona.
Chris says
So true, Jacqui. And now our 3 year old grandson is a big fan of polenta, lasagna, red sauce and other Italian dishes. Many of them family recipes. (And the polenta spoon belonged to the father of my dad’s best childhood friend. Gifted to me a few years ago.) The cycle of life continues ...
CS says
Hi Jacqui! Im so excited I found your recipe which I’ll be trying soon. I was in the Dolomites in cavalese during Christmas and fell in love with these. It’s funny tho we had them swimming in butter! Alas I will do the broth version as I felt so so full for like a day after lol. But interesting that seemed to be an alternative preparation.
Jacqui says
Thanks for your comment Charice. I hope you'll let me know how your canederli turn out when you make them! In the South Tirol, they eat canederli in broth and also with butter and maybe cheese, so yes there's more than one way to prepare them!
Nisha says
This looks so exotic and something that I would love to try . Thanks for introducing us to these interesting recipes !
Jacqui says
Canederli is such a delicious type of dumpling! I'm certain you'll love this traditional dish Nisha!
Kim Morgan says
My husband's grandfather came from Cles, Tyrol. One of his favorite meals in the winter was what he called Canedelin. My husband wanted to make it but, we misplaced his Nanna's recipe and couldn't find it on-line with the incorrect spelling. Thank you for sharing!
Julie Inama says
My husband's family is from Cles!
Lathiya says
Never seen Italian dumplings before but this sounds interesting dish. Sounds delicious and comforting.
Mirlene says
I wondered what the signature dish of South Tirol was. I've seen so many great dishes but was not sure which one was the best representation of the area. Can't wait to try it!
Linda says
First time learning about Italian dumplings and this sounds so comforting. Can't wait to give it a try!
Jenni LeBaron says
I had no idea that Italy had their own version of dumplings and I am so excited I came across this recipe because they look absolutely delicious! This will be gorgeous comfort food in our house the second it cools down a bit!