Fried Canederli (Canederli Pressati) from The South Tyrol.

Known locally as canederli pressati or pressknodel, these Italian fried bread dumplings are a traditional dish from the South Tyrol in Northeast Italy. Easy to make and so delicious, fried canederli are perfect in broth, as a snack or with onion rings, cabbage or salad as a main course.

What are canederli?

Canederli is the Italian name for large bread dumplings from the mountainous South Tyrol (Alto Adige) region that borders with Austria.

The same dumplings are known as semmelknödel in the German-speaking world. These are traditional in Southern Germany and Austria. You can also find versions of these dumplings in Hungarian, Slovakian, Polish and Czech cuisine.

Canederli are a very ancient food said to date back even thousands of years. They are a prime example of the Italian peasant kitchen (la cucina povera), invented as a way to use up leftovers. You can read more about the history of these dumplings in my canederli post.

Both canerderli and semmelknödel usually contain stale bread, eggs, milk, and frequently onion. There are different versions of bread dumplings in both Germany and Italy.

Italian canederli often have spinach or speck (a type of bacon) or salami in them. They can also be made with cheese and/or flour inside, as well as herbs such as chives and parsley. There are also canederli made with liver.

The ingredients in these fried canederli.

To make these fried canederli, you will need stale bread, flour, cheese, eggs, milk, and onions, plus butter to fry the onions and the canederli in. In addition, meat or vegetable broth to finish the cooking and to serve.

The bread.

Most people make canederli with stale white bread, usually a country style hard or soft wheat bread. However, some Italians use bread made with Khorasan wheat or farro. Here in Italy, we can buy ready stale bread cubes for canederli but I usually just make my own.

The eggs.

This recipe calls for 3-4 fresh eggs, depending on the size. I used 4 medium free range organic eggs. 3 large would be fine. Organic eggs are more nutritious than others because the hens are fed high quality feed and live better lives. Bring the eggs to room temperature before making your dumplings if you keep them in the fridge.

The flour.

Flour isn’t always added to fried canederli recipes but the one I followed called for it. I used Italian ‘00’ soft wheat flour. You can also use all-purpose flour. Some recipes call for a mix of soft wheat flour and buckwheat flour.

The cheese.

Traditionally canederli pressati are made with graukäse (Tyrolean grey cheese). This is a strongly flavoured, rennet free low fat cow’s milk cheese from the Tyrolean Alps. Obviously, this cheese isn’t easy to come by outside of the Tyrol. I used fontina another Italian mountain cheese. You can also use Asiago, Bitto, Montasio, Emmenthal or Swiss Gruyère.

The onions.

You can use white or yellow onions for this recipe. As much as I love them in other recipes, red onions are a bit too pungent for these fried canederli. I used a white onion, but this recipe works without onions too. Some recipes add chopped garlic instead of onions.

The milk.

Some canederli pressati recipes call for milk and cream together with a ratio of 4 to 1 (80ml/ 2.7floz milk/ 20ml/0.7floz cream) but I used just full fat fresh milk. The milk needs to be tepid or room temperature, not fridge cold.

The broth.

Canederli are traditionally cooked and served in broth or cooked in boiling water and eaten with melted butter and cheese. You can eat and serve these fried canederli both ways (after frying).

I used a classic chicken broth, but vegetable and beef broth are good too. Save time by using a ready-made broth or make your own. I wouldn’t recommend broth made from stock cubes as this tends to be very salty.

How to make fried canederli.

Prep your ingredients.

The first step in making fried canederli is to cut the stale bread into cubes after removing the crusts. Then cut the cheese into very small cubes as well. You can also grate the cheese instead.

Next peel and finely chop the onion and break the eggs into a bowl and beat them. Finally wash and chop the parsley and chives.

The next step is to fry the onion in butter until it’s soft and translucent. Then set it aside to cool.

Make the canederli mixture.

Put the bread cubes into a large bowl, mix the eggs with the milk and pour the mixture over the bread.

Then add the onions, flour, parsley and chives. Mix everything together gently and add the small cheese cubes. Mix again. Allow the mixture to rest for ten minutes.

Form the canederli.

Once the canederli mixture has rested use wet hands to form balls about 5-7cm (2-3ins) in diameter. If the mixture is too wet add a little flour or breadcrumbs.

Roll the canederli balls in a little flour and then press them with your hands to flatten slightly. They will look like thick patties or fritters. Place the ready canederli on a lightly floured surface while you make the rest.

How to cook and serve your fried canederli.

When you have made all the canederli, put the broth on to heat and melt butter in a frying pan. Fry the canederli in the butter until they have browned on both sides.

You may have to do this in batches. Place the ready fried canederli on a plate covered with kitchen paper until you have fried them all.

Bring the broth to a simmer and cook the canederli in the broth for 8-10 minutes. Then serve with some broth or remove from the broth with a slotted spoon and serve with melted butter or a salad.

Traditionally, Italians serve their canederli pressati with fried onion rings or a cabbage salad.

Is this recipe vegetarian?

You can easily make this recipe vegetarian by using a vegetable broth and a rennet free cheese (or one made with a vegetable rennet). Many Italian cheeses are not vegetarian because they contain animal rennet.  

What to do with leftovers.

If you have any leftover canederli pressati, you can keep them in a sealed container in the fridge for 1-2 days. Reheat them in more broth or by quickly refrying in some melted butter. I don't recommend freezing leftovers.

Let me know what you think.

We ate our fried canederli 2 ways, in broth and with a green salad. Both ways are delicious as a starter or light lunch. Whichever way you decide to serve these fried Italian bread dumplings, I'm sure you won't be making them only once.

This is a unique Italian mountain recipe that your family and friends are sure to love. Do let me know what you think if you try this recipe by commenting here on the blog or on The Pasta Project Facebook page.

Buon Appetito!

If you are interested in learning how to make homemade pasta and different types of gnocchi, check out my shop page for some great video online courses from my friends in Rome! Nothing beats learning to make pasta from Italians! Plus while you’re there why not order a copy of one of pasta recipes cookbook!?