Wednesday, May 12, 2010

International Dumpling Incident: Spinat Knödel mit Gorgonzola Sauce


International Dumplings Incident Party

Can you guess what time is is, kids? That's right, it's  International Incident time, a monthly (ish) event in which  food bloggers from around the world come together and create their own version of a dish based on a theme. After our last two successful parties - gnocchi and pizza pie - this month's Incident is all about dumplings. (To check out my compatriots' creations, please visit our party host, Penny aka Jeroxie.)

As much fun as I had with pizza, I've really been looking forward to this one because I've been wanting an excuse to recreate the hearty, rib-sticking dish I had at the Cafe Phönixhof in Vienna: rich and cheesy spinat knödel (spinach dumplings) mit gorgonzola sauce.
I'm not going to lie to you. This is not diet food, people, so I suggest you go out and ski the Alps, or climb some very high cathedral towers (twice), or hike the entire Wienerwald before indulging in these doughy calorie bombs. Trust me, though  - it's worth it.  And though I haven't read anything to confirm this, I suspect that the specific use of gorgonzola here, rather than simply "blue cheese," as is more traditional, reflects the current Austrian love of, as Chef Mike put it, all things "in the Italian style." But more on that in a future post.

Keep in mind that these amounts are not exact, as I adapted this from a recipe I found here, which listed all the ingredients in grams, and I am ashamed to admit that I still do not have a proper scale. So I eyeballed it.  Another note - while typically dumplings are steamed or boiled, I decided to try to emulate the slightly browned and crispy exterior of the ones I had at Cafe Phönixhof and bake mine.  This was a huge success, but I did boil one (actually you simmer, not boil, dumplings of this size and  type) and this one had a more soft and puffy  - dare I say dumpling-y? - texture.

But enough of my musings - let's get to the knödels!

Spinat  Knödel mit Gorgonzola Sauce 

For the knödel
400 g (that's about 9 slices) of slightly stale white bread, crusts removed and diced
250 ml (about a cup) of milk
500 g (a lot!) baby spinach
2 eggs
1/3 cup (or 150 g)  Parmesan cheese (finely grated)
1/3 cup (original calls for 160 g) breadcrumbs, I used plain matzoh meal
salt, pepper, to taste
freshly ground nutmeg, to taste

For the Sauce
6 ounces gorgonzola cheese
1/4 cup whole milk

First, soak the cubed bread in the milk and let sit for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, blanch the spinach and immediately shock with cold water. Drain all excess water and chop. 
Squeeze off any excess milk  from the breadcrumbs and combine the rest of the ingredients - the egg, Parmesan, Matzoh meal, salt, pepper, & nutmeg - and mix until smooth. Let sit for about 15 minutes. 
Now, form the mixture into uniform balls - a bit larger than golf balls. If you're baking your knödel, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (If you're boiling, remember that you want the water to be simmering, not boiling.) 

Before baking, I brushed each knödel with a little melted butter (at this point, what are a few more calories??) to keep them moist and help them get that slightly crisp exterior I wanted.  Pop into a 375 degree oven and bake for 30-40 minutes. Check the bottom of your dumplings about halfway through to make sure that they aren't burning. 

When the knödel are almost ready, make your sauce. Just combine the milk and gorgonzola over a low flame, stirring constantly, until combined.  To plate, make a sauce bed for the knödel, drizzle a bit more over the top, and garnish with parsley.  Eat, drink ... and then fall into a stupor.

Enjoy the dumpling party, and don't forget to head over to Jeroxie: Addictive and Consuming to check out all the other awesome interpretations of this theme. And of course, happy birthday to all the May Incident Crew babies, including Mardi of Eat Live Travel Write, who is celebrating a milestone birthday this month.  Bonne Anniversaire!






43 comments:

  1. Trix.. dumplings from heaven.. love baking them instead of boiling.. with all that lovely fat.. what can you do to dry them and the texture must be wonderful. Must try!!

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  2. They look beautiful Trix! Love the sauce too.

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  3. YAY! We're both umlaut fiends! :D These look so completely and utterly worth the calories. They're sitting there in their little saucy bed, unaware of their impending fate. Delicious!

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  4. Beautiful- The spinach cancels out all of those calories, right? :) Thought so. Loved the step-by-step!

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  5. Trix my dear, that knödel you held up looks marbled! Exquisite! My daughter wants me to make them, and I sure will. How can I not? GORGONZOLA SAUCE. We live for things like that! :)

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  6. Wow, these sound absolutely delicious especially with Gorgonzola sauce, yum!

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  7. Gorgeous dumplings. What a great job. Love the use of mint with Gorgonzola. A+++

    Cheers!

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  8. Oh my! You totally blew me away with this one!! Cant beleive they are so simple to make, they look really sophisticated! Wow and with those great step by step pics-did hubby pitch in too then?-I couldn't possibly go wrong! Yum!

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  9. Oh I have not had knödels in so long, and usual have had a meat version. Love yours.Love gorgonzola too.

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  10. Again, another brilliant depiction of your masterpiece translations from abroad! I am so glad you show a picture of what "a lot" of spinach looks like b/c 500 grams of it seemed like a "ton" to me! These look phenom.! I'd have some adjustments to make, i.e., cheese and egg, but totally know I would love them body and soul!

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  11. Delicious! I love these spinach dumplings and the gorgonzola sauce is icing on the cake so to speak; you were trying to scare me with the calories and all? didn't work, 'cause I want them! I will make them for my parents when I visit in a little while they will love it! Thanks Trix!

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  12. I think you work off the calories by rolling the balls, right? It's a pre-workout thing that allows you to eat as many as you can before anyone else gets a chance...glory, they look good. Will definitely try these, using both spinach and my favorite chard. Thanks for sharing.

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  13. bread and spinach dumplings omg I am so going to be trying these....love the combo....and then the cheese....your a genius~~ not sure of any better dumpling that I have ever heard of yum/!

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  14. Yum! I love thEse spinach balls. I forgot what they're called already :)THE PREPARATION LOOKS EASY AND DELICIOUS.

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  15. wasn't sure what a knödel was, kinda like a baked spinach ball with a lot of breading, sounds pretty darn good, especially soaking up that gorgonzola cream ... yum Trix

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  16. I love the picture series in this post, you make it look so easy to create these wonderful spinach dumplings! They look fantastic and very filling!

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  17. Beautiful! They *look* healthy so I would go with that thought!

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  18. Those dumplings are beautiful. I love the color of them, the green of the spinach is so bright. They make me just want to eat them all right now!

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  19. This is something different! And delicious, too! Thanks so much for sharing.

    PS: I'm off to make your onion tart!!

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  20. I guess every country has its own version, those look incredibly delicious with all that green! love it, and of course the gorgonzola sauce to top it off!

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  21. Between you and Conor, my tongue is in knots trying to pronounce these dumplings! 8-D

    These are knödel look so savory - I just love all that wonderful spinach while I know that my husband would totally appreciate the gorgonzola sauce!

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  22. Oh Trix!!! These look so good, and of course since they;re spinach they're very very very very good for me right??? Please say yes. Popeye would be so proud.

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  23. Your dumplings look sooo good. I'm glad not all entries to this month's theme were Asian as I love to learn about all different types. Thanks for posting this.

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  24. Now I see why you say why this is not a diet food. But I suppose it's ok to eat once in a while. After this, I will go for diet food :P.It does look very delicious. Penny is awesome to organise all this.

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  25. What a great foody blog...good pics no great pics and easy directions...Hey not food related buy i'm having a GIVEAWAY WHICH CLOSES TOMMORROW! SO POP ON BY.

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  26. hey trix!
    you've been doing such beautiful stuff lately! I love seeing how much your time away inspired you!

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  27. These look gorgeous! I would gladly climb a cathedral tower twice to eat these!

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  28. I see you followed the FBF advice about incorporating the name of the dish in the photos... the result is great! And BTW, you knödelen look seriously good... it's amazing how much that cute chef taught you...

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  29. The hills are still alive with the sound of music at the haus von Trix! I love the Austrian with a bit of Italian dumpling. You are right! I am doing lunges right now just thinking about these babies!!! They look great! I love the step by step photos!

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  30. Wow, I've tried making knodel before and failed miserably at it! These look amazing tho, so maybe I really should try again.... hm.

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  31. Calorie bombs indeed, but oh..so.. worth.. the destruction! They're beautiful, and anything with spinach and all that heavenly cheese, will have me ready with fork in hand! This definitely calls for stretchy pants :P

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  32. I agree that the spinach MUST cancel out those calories! WOW, how delicious. Please send me some. Now. Seriously. :)

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  33. Thanks to my German hubby, I love dumplings. I also love spinach and gorgonzola....so this is heaven. I'll be making these babies soon!
    Amanda from Nourish

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  34. Could these be the famous knodel from the song in the Sound of Music - "schnitzel with knodels"? If not, they should be. Yum!

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  35. Oh Trix, love the way you made them! Looks so simply and yet delicious. Must try this out someday. Thanks so much for sharing. Have a nice day!
    Cheers, Kristy

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  36. Your divine dumplings look deadly but delicious! Great idea to bake them.

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  37. your recipes are as wicked as you! sounds delish! ~Brian

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  38. Lovely dumplings, Trix. They look special and delicious in the creamy sauce. Yummm...

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  39. reviewing your blog in painstaking detail as I sit in the Vienna apartment. Jenny and I just came back from a restaurant three blocks from the apartment where she had a good kaesespaeztle with ham and I had an AMAZING spinach palachinka (sp!?!) with sheep's milk and garlic. Crazy, crazy good.

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  40. Thank you!!!! We just got back from 3 glorious weeks in Northern Italy and Austria. One of my highlight meals (of course, so many to pick from!) was spinat knodels in Salzburg. Your recipe looks fab.

    Servos!

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  41. The best meal I ever had in Tirol was this dish. I have been hankering for
    a repeat of that event ever since (15 years!). Thank you for the recipe.

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