german recipe: delicious bavarian Knoedel (dumplings)

This is a recipe for 5-6 round Knoedel or one big Serviettenknoedel. If you cannot buy pretzels anywhere nearby, its possible to use white bread.

Ingredients:
-5-6 Pretzels or 6-7 slices of white bread (old dry bread, not sweetened)
-a bunch of parsley
-2 eggs
-1 onion
-8,5 fl oz warm milk
-dash of salt and pepper, opt. grated nutmeg

Preparation:
Cut the old bread or pretzels into small pieces and put it into a big bowl.
Heat the milk in the microwave till it’s warm and put it over the bread into the bowl.
Cut the onion and parsley into small pieces and put it also into the bowl.
Break open the eggs and add it to the mixture.
Now mix it altogether with hands or spoon and add salt and pepper.
Let the mixture allow to infuse in the fridge for minimum 20 minutes.

You can now roll small Knoedels with your hands like meatballs and cook it directly in hot water for 15-20min (20min for fist-sized Knoedels). Or you do a big one which will be cut after cooking.

Take 2 layers of plastic wrap on your countertop and put the mixture in the middle of the wraps.
Now you take the first piece of the plastic wrap over the dough while you squeeze it a bit together. The other piece will be done over the first wrap, squeeze it till the mixture is more compact and tie the right open close to the dough. If the mixture is very compact, tie the left end up. If it’s not compact you can push the wider end more over the dough till it’s tighten up.

This ‘sausage’ will be wrapped into 2-3 more layers of plastic wrap. Boil water in a wide pot (not too much water!) and put the Knoedel into it.
Let it cook at mean temperature for 30-35 minutes.

Almost ready. Cut off the plastic wrap and cut the Knoedel into slices.
In Germany we eat dumplings with a sauce of mushrooms or white winesauce and roast meat or sausages.