Canoodle with canederli, a Winter warmer.

 Now the weather is getting very cold and the forecast says it will be the coldest Winter for one hundred years. In the South Tyrol region of Italy one dish you will always find on the menu is Canederli. It comes from the German word Knodel, which sounds like the English word noodle, but they are more like what we would call Dumplings. This is a great Winter recipe. They are easy to make once you know how and the ingredients can be adapted to what you have in the fridge. Everyone will be happy to arrive home from work or school on a cold Winter night and find them gently simmering on the stove. The Canederli can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for a day or two before cooking.
The word Canederli always makes me think of the English word canoodle. It is often used in fun to describe in a light-hearted innocent sort of way, kissing and a cuddling with your partner. So keep warm this Winter with lots of Canederli and canoodling.

Canederli, serves four

6  day old bread rolls or slices of bread, cubed
250 ml milk
2 eggs, beaten
100g speck or smoked ham
150 g ham chopped
100g grated Parmesan cheese
30g butter
half an onion, finely sliced and gently cooked in a non stick pan
parsley, chopped
3 tbsps. flour, to mix
broth made with chicken or vegetables or a good quality stock cube.

Soak the bread in the milk and squeeze out the excess.
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and shape into 8 balls.
Put on a saucepan of broth and bring to the boil.

Gently place the Canederli into the broth and simmer gently for about 10-15 minutes.
Make sure they keep their shape.
You can serve them in the broth or gently remove them and serve with sage and melted butter.

This recipe can easily be adapted for Vegetarians and spiced up with some chilli or paprika if you want something a bit more hot.

Buon appetite and happy canoodling.

Prepare the ingredients

Form into balls that will hold their shape while cooking

Simmer very gently for about 10.15 minutes

Buon appetito