Today we talk about oven-baked finger food dumplings. Yes, indeed, I have reinterpreted a staple of South Tyrolean cuisine because I wanted to create a tasty and unusual appetizer to serve with drinks. They are soft, aromatic (thanks to the presence of sun-dried tomatoes), and have a melting heart thanks to the provolone cheese they are stuffed with. They are so delicious that they can be served either hot or cold. This is a refined and flavorful appetizer; and, to make it, all you need is some day-old bread and a little bit of broth (either vegetable or meat), water, or milk to make the bread soft without disintegrating. We can customize and enrich them based on the occasion or our needs.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 24 dumplings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 7 oz Rustic bread (gluten-free if needed)
- 6 Sun-dried tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons Cheese
- to taste Broth
- to taste Pepper
- 1 Egg yolk
- 9 oz Provolone cheese
- 2 oz Speck slices
- to taste Breadcrumbs (gluten-free if needed)
Preparation
Place the sun-dried tomatoes in boiling water and let them sit for 30 minutes. This way, they will become softer and more pleasing to the palate.
Once they are soft, coarsely chop them.
Cut the provolone into cubes and drain any whey. Do not add too much salt to the recipe.
Also chop the speck with a knife after removing the fatty parts.
Tear the bread into pieces (if the crust is too hard, use only the crumb) and place it in a large bowl, where you will add a couple of tablespoons of hot broth to soften the bread just enough to mix it with the other ingredients. If broth is not available, you can use milk or just hot water.
Do not overdo the liquids because remember that you will also add the egg yolk, which will provide additional moisture and help bind everything together.
As soon as the bread is soft, press it to remove any excess liquid. Transfer it to a food processor or blender. Add all the other ingredients and blend (or mix by hand) until you have a soft and sticky dough.
If it is too soft, add a few tablespoons of breadcrumbs or some more bread crumb.
Conversely, if the mixture is still too hard, you can add a teaspoon or tablespoon of broth, depending on the desired consistency.
If it seems unbound, then add a little bit of egg white (which we separated from the yolk).
Preheat the oven to the maximum temperature.
Meanwhile, put some breadcrumbs in a deep plate. With your hands, take some of the mixture (you choose the size of the finger food dumplings), roll it in the breadcrumbs, shape it into a ball, press in the center, and place a piece of provolone inside the indentation.
Close, press slightly at the ends, roll them again in breadcrumbs, and place each dumpling on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush them with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and bake them on the middle rack for about 15 minutes or until golden.
You can also fry them if you do not have or do not want to use the oven.
