Dumpling recipes. Since Austrian knödel are my favorite mood food my collection of sweet and savory dumpling recipeshas grown during the past years. When I dig into them, I bite into my home country. To show you how versatile and easy they are to prepare, learn how to cook eight different types dumpling types below.
What Are Austrian Knödel Made Of?
Throughout Austrian cookbooks, Knödel (or Knodel) appear in many recipes, either as astand-alone mealor aside dish with meat, mushrooms or just lettuce. Depending on their variety, they are made or potatoes, bread and bread crumbs, soft cheese and semolina, and even yeast.
Where Do Knödel Come From?
Most of the dumplings originate from the former crownlands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire,Bohemia and Moravia(today’s Czech Republic), and from Germany. Originally, the many Bohemian and Moravian cooks and nannies who used to work in bourgeois Viennese households introduced theKnedlickito Austrian households.
The eight dumpling recipes below are based on 4 people and focus on either savory or sweet dumplings. While most of them areeasy to prepare Austrian supermarkets also offer ready made mixtures for all the different Knödel.
Savoury Dumpling Recipes
1. Semmelknödel
Soft but solid in texture, this dumplings recipe is based on old bread rolls. It derives its taste from chopped onions and parsley. We usually eat them with roast pork (Schweinsbraten),gulash, deer stew, lentils or mushroom ragout. If you mix finely chopped smoked meat into the mass, you will getTirolerknödel, a tasty stand-alone dish.
Ingredients:
6 old bread rolls (equals about 300 gr)
60 gr vegetable oil, lard or butter
50 gr flour
300 to 400 ml milk
2 eggs
1 onion
50 gr parsley
salt
- Cut thebread rollsinto small cubes and fry them in fat together with the finely choppedonion and parsleyuntil crispy.
- Whiskmilk, eggs and salt, pour them over the bread rolls, onion and parsley until the rolls absorb the liquid.
- Add just enoughflourto create a sticky mixture, if needed, and mix well
- Form round dumplings with your hands, put them in boiling salt water and let them simmer for around 10 minutes
My tip:Boil onetest dumplingto find out whether additional flour is needed for the remaining mixture.
2. Serviettenknödel
Serviettenknödelis one of the German dumpling recipes and similar toSemmelknödel. They are shaped into a long roll and boiled using a cotton or linen napkin (Serviette). Today, people also use strong cling film which can be cut open after boiling. The Knodel are used as a side dish much like theSemmelknödel.
Ingredients:
6 old bread rolls (equals about 300 gr)
80 + 30 gr butter, and a little butter for the napkin
30 gr breadcrumbs
125 ml milk
2 to 3 eggs
salt
- Cut the oldbread rollsinto small cubes
- Whiskeggswithmilk, 80 gr meltedbutterandsaltand pour the mixture over the bread rolls
- Coat a cotton or linennapkinwith butter
- When the bread rolls have absorbed the liquid, bind the mixture into the buttered napkin and form a long shaped dumpling
- Bringsalt waterto the boil and let the mixture in the napkin simmer for around 45 minutes
- Take the dumpling out of the napkin and slice it using a knife
- Fry thebreadcrumbswith 30 gr butter
- Sprinkle the roasted breadcrumbs over the dumpling slices before serving them
3. Erdäpfelknödel
This dumplings recipe is one of the easiest for potato dumplings, which taste a little like Italiangnocchi. Potato dumpling recipes are heavier in texture than bread or soft cheese dumplings. They are a great side dish withroast duckorgoose, but also withroast pork.
Ingredients:
1 kg baking potatoes
200 gr flour
70 gr semolina
40 gr butter
1 egg yolk
nutmeg
salt
- boil thepotatoesand pass them through a potato press while still hot
- Mix theflour, semolina, a pinch ofnutmeg,saltand theegg yolkto make a dough
- Create golf-ball sizeddumplingswith your hands
- Put the dumplings in boilingsaltwaterand let them simmer for 15 to 20 minutes
- Take the dumplings out of the water and serve immediately
4. Tiroler Speckknödel
The bacon dumplings recipe from the Tyrol is another meaty version of dumpling recipes. They mix old rolls with finely chopped smoked bacon, onions and parsley, which creates a fantastic flavour. TheTiroler Speckknödelare eaten as a solid ingredient with clear soups (use small dumplings). They can be sliced and pan-fried and eaten with leafy green salad, white sour cabbage or lentils.
Ingredients:
6 old bread rolls (equals about 300 gr)
125 gr smoked bacon cut in small cubes
1 small chopped onion
1 tble spoon finely chopped parsley
50 gr butter
250 ml milk
2 eggs
flour as needed
salt
- Cut thebread rollsin small cubes.
- Whisk theeggswithmilkandsalt
- Pour the mixture over the bread rolls and let them absorb the liquid for 30 minutes
- Fry theonionin butter until golden
- Add the cubes ofbacon, the fried onion, parsley and just enough flour to create a not too soft dough
- Form 10dumplingsout of the mixture
- Put the dumplings in boilingsalt waterand let them simmer for around 15 minutes
- Serve with lettuce or white cabbage (Sauerkraut)
My tip:Fry slices of left over dumplings in the pan. Tastes also great if you fry them with eggs. Serve with green leafy salad.
5. Fleischknödel
For a stand-alone dumpling dish this is one of the bestrecycling dumpling recipes if you have left over roast meat, minced meat or sausages.
Ingredients:
500 gr flour
200 gr meat, minced meat or sausage
50 + 20 gr vegetable oil, lard or butter
30 gr breadcrumbs
half an onion
parsley
625 ml water
salt
- Salt the flour, scald with boiling water and form a dough
- Using a spoon, cut equally sized pieces out of the dough
- Press each of the pieces apart on a surface covered with flour
- For thefilling: Finely chop the meat or sausages and mix them with finely chopped fried onion and parsley
- Put one or two tablespoons of the meat in the middle of each piece of dough
- Form dumplings by closing the meat filling with the dough
- Put the dumplings in boiling salt water and simmer for around 10 minutes
- Fry the breadcrumbs in a little fat
- Sprinkle the dumplings with the fried breadcrumbs just before serving them
Sweet Dumpling Recipes
6. Plum, apricot, cherry or strawberry dumplings
Our classic sweet dumpling recipes are based on potatoes orsoft cheese, flour and sugar. Soft cheese dumplings are veryfluffy. Whether you have them plain, with compote, breadcrumbs fried in butter and cinnamon, they taste amazing. Alternatively, fill them with different types of fruit, such as apricots, plums or strawberries. Other than that, this kind of Austrian knödel is also delicious when frozen: For example, Viennese ice cream parlourEissalon am Schwedenplatzexcels with its apricot ice cream dumplings.
Ingredients:
1 kg potatoes
500 gr fresh fruit
270 gr flour
50 gr breadcrumbs
30 gr semolina
60 gr vegetable oil, lard or butter
80 gr butter
1 egg
salt
sugar to sprinkle
- Boil thepotatoes, peel them while hot and pass them through a potato press (or crush them with a rolling pin)
- Add 60 groil, lard or butter, flour, eggandsemolinaand quickly form a smooth dough (don’t knead forever as this makes the dough loose texture)
- Create a long roll out of the dough, and cut in thumb thick slices
- Press each slice apart and cover one piece offruitin it, then form a dumpling with your hands. Just use enough dough to firmly cover the fruit
- Put the dumplings into boilingsalt waterand let them simmer on low heat for 5 minutes
- Fry thebreadcrumbsin 80 gr butter
- Take the dumplings out, roll them in the fried breadcrumbs, sprinkle withsugarand serve immediately
7. Cheesecake semolina apricot dumplings
One of my mother’s favourite sweet dumpling recipes, this has become a regular on my family’s dinner table.
Ingredients:
500 gr soft cheese (ricotta)
300 gr flour
120 gr butter
8 to 10 apricots
2 eggs
salt
peel of unwaxed lemon
For thefried breadcrumbs: 30 gr breadcrumbs, 30 gr butter
30 gr icing sugar
- Whiskbutter, lemon peeland a pinch ofsaltuntil foamy
- Add theeggsone by one
- Addsoft cheeseandflouruntil you create a smooth dough
- Let the dough rest for 15 minutes
- Cover each of the washedapricotsin a layer of dough, just enough to close them in, and form dumplings with your hands
- Put them in boilingsalt waterand let them simmer for around 15 minutes
- Fry thebreadcrumbsin the butter
- Sprinkle the dumplings with fried breadcrumbs andicing sugarjust before serving them
My tip:As a variation of fruit dumpling recipes, you can replace the apricots with nougat balls (for best results use Lindt’sLindornougat balls), which melt into chocolate sauce once you slice up the dumplings.Vienna restaurant Mottousually serves them with warm strawberry compote! Alternatively, you can create this type of Austrian knödel as golf-ball sized unfilled dumplings and serve them with fruit compote.
8. Germknödel
Yeast dumplings are the Big Mac among Austrian knödel. They are rich and filling ‘reward food’ and their gigantic size inspires awe.Germknödelcome tossed with a black and white mixture of poppy seeds and caster sugar, and are surrounded by a mellow puddle of melted butter, or vanilla sauce. They are filled withPowidl, traditional plum jam of Bohemian origin. Yeast dumplings arehigh carbohydrate foodand very popular at Austrian ski resorts.
Yeast dumpling recipes are forexperienced cooks. It also shows that this knodel is slow food. It takes around 2 to 2.5 hours to prepare them (think of the reward!)
Ingredients:
250 gr plain flour; plus a little flour to cover the work surface
120 ml milk
12 gr yeast
200 gr (melted) butter to sprinkle; plus 3 tble spoons of (melted) butter
1 egg
1 egg yolk
pinch of salt
1 tble spoon crystalized sugar
120 gr plum jam (Powidl)
100gr icing sugar
100 gr grated grey poppy seeds
- Dissolve theyeastin luke warmmilk
- Add 4 tble spoons offlour, thecrystal sugarand a pinch ofsalt
- Mix well, sprinkle with a little flour and let the dough extend until it doubles in size (in the oven on 40 degrees Celsius, with door left ajar)
- Add meltedbutter, remainingflour, eggandegg yolkand form a smooth dough
- Let the dough extend further for 30 to 40 minutes
- Fold the dough together on a work surfaced topped with a little flour
- Let the dough rest for 5 minutes and thenroll outuntil 5 mm thick
- Cut the dough in 5 x 5 cm large square shapes
- Wet the margins with a little water
- Put someplum jamin the middle of each square, close the dough around the jam and form dumplings
- Put the dumplings on a board covered with a little flour, cover them with a tea towel and let them rest for 30 minutes
- Boil water in a largespacious panand add the dumplings (you may need to do this in two turns)
- Let the water boil up once and then let the dumplings simmer under firmly closed lid for 15 minutes
- Within this time period, turn the dumplings upside down after 10 minutes and let them simmer for the remaining time
- Take the dumplings out of the water and immediately pierce them with a tooth pick or a long skewer stick, to prevent the dumplings from collapsing
- For thepoppy seed mixture: Mix the poppy seeds with the icing sugar and sprinkle it over the dumplings. Generously pour the melted butter over the dumplings and serve immediately.
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