Bozen/Bolzano, the gate of the Dolomites, is a crossroads of cultures, in which the Germanic and the Italian tradition mixed successfully together with high quality local products, such as apples, speck, cheese, river fish. In South Tyrol you may taste dishes from the Austrian, German and Hungarian cuisine. A dish very close to the German-Austrian tradition but that was actually born in Italian territory is the knödel.
According to the legend, a horde of German mercenary soldiers entered a South Tyrolean inn tired and hungry. The soldiers ordered the innkeeper to bring them food right away: in order to push him even more, they kept his wife and daughters as hostages. The ladies in captivity worked hard and prepared a dish of spherical shape made of very poor ingredients: old bread with spices, meat or vegetables. The mercenaries ate to their hearts’ content and grew tired: “these cannon balls would knock out even the angriest man” said their commander, and paid the women with some gold coins. Nowadays, the knödel are a famous and beloved first course (there is also a sweet version, with apricots, plums or chocolate) and are an essential part in the menus of our restaurants. At the Schneeberg Hotel we love knödel made of spinach or in their classic version with speck. Here you have the special recipe of “granny Kruselburger” for a guaranteed result:
Ingredients for 4 persons:
600g of stale bread
200g of speck
1 minced onion
2 spoons of butter
4 eggs
500ml of milk
4 spoons of flour
2 spoons of minced parsley
3 l of meat broth
1 minced small bunch of chives
Preparation
Let the butter melt down in a pan and wait for the onion to brown off. Cut the bread and the speck into small cubes and pour them into a big bowl. Add all the left ingredients and mix them, then add the onion and melted butter and let the mixture rest for 20 minutes.
Shape the knödel with wet hands: the size have to be more or less that of a tennis ball. Cook them in the hot broth for 20 minutes and serve them with their broth and a pinch of chive.
