Allgäuer Kaspressknödel

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide mixing bowl
• •Box grater
• •Large heavy frying pan
• •Thin spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the bread

   Put the bread cubes in a wide bowl and pour the warm milk over them, tossing once with your hands so every piece gets touched. Leave it for 20 minutes. Stale bread needs time to drink; rush it and dry centers crack the Knödel in the pan, drown it and you get paste.

2. 2

   Cook the onion

   Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small pan and cook the onion gently until soft and pale gold, about 6 minutes. Don't brown it hard. Sweet onion belongs inside the dumpling, bitter onion fights the cheese.

3. 3

   Mix the dough

   Add the onion, eggs, Bergkäse, Emmentaler, parsley, chives, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to the soaked bread. Mix firmly but don't knead it smooth; the bread should bind together while still showing pieces, because those edges fry crisp and keep the dumpling light. If the mixture feels loose and wet, add breadcrumbs one spoon at a time.

4. 4

   Rest and shape

   Rest the mixture for 10 minutes, then shape 8 patties about 2cm thick, pressing them flat with damp hands. The rest lets the egg and milk settle into the bread, and the flat shape matters: a round Knödel stays raw in the middle before the cheese at the edge has time to brown.

5. 5

   Fry them golden

   Heat the clarified butter or oil with 1 tablespoon butter in a wide pan over medium heat. Fry the patties 4 to 5 minutes per side, turning once, until deep golden with little crisp cheese edges. Keep the heat moderate. Too hot, and the outside burns before the cheese melts through; too low, and the bread drinks fat.

6. 6

   Serve at once

   Serve the Kaspressknödel in clear broth, or set them on warm sauerkraut with a little chive over the top. Taste before salting the broth or kraut, because mountain cheese brings its own salt. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss.

Chef Tips

• •Use stale bread, not fresh. Fresh bread turns gummy under milk; day-old rolls keep enough structure to fry crisp at the edges.
• •Bergkäse gives the Allgäu character. If you can't find it, use a young Gruyère with Emmentaler, but don't use mild rubbery cheese and expect the pan to save you.
• •Fry one test Knödel first. If it spreads, mix a spoon of breadcrumbs into the rest; if it cracks, work in a splash of milk. The test costs you five minutes and saves the batch.

Advance Preparation

• •The mixture can be made up to 8 hours ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator; shape just before frying so the patties don't weep.
• •Cooked Kaspressknödel reheat well in a dry pan over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Don't microwave them unless you like tired bread.
• •Freeze cooked patties in a single layer, then bag them for up to 2 months. Reheat from frozen in a covered pan first, then uncover to bring the crust back.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 210g)