Herb Lime Bread-Dumplings (Knödel)

The German recipe Monday is back! And today is the International No Diet Day. Let’s celebrate with food!

I cannot help myself. I am a carb lover. Bread dumplings have always been one of my favourite foods. When I was a child my grandmother would make them and we’d eat them with some kind of roast and a brown sauce. They were not homemade though and I remember that my grandmother kept the silver-coloured bags the dry dumplings came in. She would recycle them for our school sandwiches and I think we were the only ones who had their snacks wrapped this way. Back then I thought it was weird. Now I would probably do the same thing. And I wish we would have had the chance to cook together more often.

Anyway, these dumplings are a not so traditional variation of a very traditional recipe. I added lime zest, fresh basil and lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) to the dough to give these a light and fresh twist.  For a more traditional version substitute fresh parsley for the herbs and leave out the lime zest. We served them with roasted asparagus with pumpkin seed vinaigrette and gomba paprikás.

Knödel (makes 7 dumplings, serves 3 and a toddler)

For the dumplings:

400 g stale bread (I used bread rolls made from white bread)
300-400 ml unsweetened soy milk
zest from one lime
2 tablespoons packed basil chiffonade (just cut the basil into thin stripes)
2 tablespoons packed lemon balm chiffonade
2 tablespoons fried onions
1 tablespoon flour
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the stale bread into cubes and place in a large bowl. Add 300 ml soy milk and let sit for 30-60 minutes, or until the bread is mushy. Stir from time to time to cover every piece of bread with milk. Add more milk if necessary. The dough should be like bread dough that you just started kneading: very sticky but manageable. You are going to turn it into balls later, so it should have the right consistency. (Sticky but firm. Not mushy.) Add the remaining ingredients, mix and knead the dough with your hands until all ingredients are well combined and shape into 7 round dumplings (a little bit smaller than a tennis ball). Set aside.

In a large pot, bring 2 litres of lightly salted water to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Add 4 dumplings and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove and drain. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.