The half-hour rest gives the bread time to absorb the milk and egg. Add the flour, then cook one test dumpling: if it breaks apart, work a little more flour into the mixture before shaping the rest. Keep the broth at a gentle simmer.
Make ahead Make the broth a day ahead and chill it: the fat sets on top and lifts off in one piece, which gives you the clear broth this dish needs.
Canederli in Brodo
Prep 30 min · Cook 20 min · Rest 30 min · Serves 4 · Difficulty Medium
Method
Soften the onion in the butter until translucent; cool slightly.
6 min
Toss the bread with the speck, onion, chives, and parsley. Whisk the eggs into the lukewarm milk and pour over. Mix gently with your hands.
6 min
Rest 30 minutes so the bread drinks the custard, then sift over the flour and fold just until the mass holds when squeezed. Season prudently.
32 min
With wet hands, press (do not roll hard) the mixture into dumplings the size of a small apricot, about 12. Compress enough to close every crack.
10 min
Poach a test dumpling in simmering salted water for 12 minutes. If it frays, work another spoonful of flour into the mixture.
13 min
Poach the rest in barely simmering water, 12 to 14 minutes; they will rise and then sit composed at the surface. Meanwhile bring the broth to a clean simmer.
15 min
Lift the canederli into warm bowls, ladle over the hot broth, and finish with chives and a turn of pepper.
Kitchen notes
Simmer, never boil. A rolling boil shakes dumplings apart from the outside in. The water should murmur; the test dumpling tells you the rest.
The bread decides. Too fresh and the mixture turns gluey; rock-hard and it never binds. One day old, cut small, is the sweet spot.
Canederli also have cheese and vegetable versions. Keep this speck mixture for the recipe here, and use the test dumpling to check its consistency.
