SPINACH DUMPLINGS also with THERMOMIX
The SPINACH DUMPLINGS are a different interpretation of a traditional dish from the typical cuisine of South Tyrol, tasty and hearty, perfect for cold winter days.
The ingredients that compose them are simple and economical, featuring: stale bread, spinach, milk, onion, eggs, and cheese: the vegetable is wonderfully “hidden,” making them very tasty and even liked by children.
Preparing Spinach Dumplings at home is within everyone’s reach; just boil the spinach, squeeze, and blend them with the other ingredients to form these large golf ball-shaped dumplings, which are then cooked in broth and served, according to taste, with melted butter and grated cheese or differently.
The recipe I propose today is a variant of the classic one, not in the preparation or ingredients of Spinach Dumplings but in the way of seasoning them: we will prepare together a tasty Gorgonzola sauce that contrasts well with the simple taste of this South Tyrolean specialty.
Ideal for both rustic and formal dinners, dumplings should be eaten freshly made or frozen raw on a tray to prevent them from sticking together and consumed as needed when you might not want to spend too much time in the kitchen and have a practically ready first course.
Moreover, the dough of the spinach dumplings can be enriched with the addition of cheese or served with a butter and cheese-based sauce, follow my recipe, and I’ll show you how simple it is to cook at home with your hands to enjoy this delicious typical mountain recipe.
At the end of the recipe, you will also find ingredients and procedure to prepare Spinach Dumplings with the Thermomix!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 522.91 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 33.18 (g) of which sugars 4.09 (g)
- Proteins 19.03 (g)
- Fat 36.12 (g) of which saturated 17.04 (g)of which unsaturated 9.81 (g)
- Fibers 3.39 (g)
- Sodium 723.29 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 200 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 8 oz spinach (fresh)
- 5.3 oz stale bread
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1.8 oz onion
- 1 oz cheese (grated Parmesan or toma, mountain cheese)
- 3.5 tbsp butter
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 5 tsp all-purpose flour
- to taste salt
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- to taste black pepper (ground optional)
- 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 5.3 oz Gorgonzola (sweet or spicy)
- 3.4 tbsp fresh liquid cream
Tools
- Pan
- Bowl
- Mixer
- Pot
Steps
First, wash the spinach under running water and dry them with a cloth. Put 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a pan, heat it, add the crushed garlic, let it flavor for 1 minute. Add the spinach, cover with the lid, and cook for about 5 minutes until they wilt. Remove the lid and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes to allow the water to evaporate. Turn off the heat, remove from the stove, let cool slightly, then squeeze them well to remove any excess water.
Place the squeezed spinach in a mixer together with the eggs, milk, a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper, and nutmeg, and blend until you obtain a very fine mixture. Meanwhile, in a pan, melt the butter, add the finely chopped onion, and sauté over low heat for about 8 minutes, turn off and let cool.
Cut the bread into cubes, place it in a bowl along with the onion sauté, chopped spinach, grated cheese, and flour. Mix everything to combine, then let the mixture rest for 30 minutes. After the indicated time, take the dough and form the dumplings by simply forming balls of about 2 inches in diameter each (each weighing about 70g).
Once the spinach dumplings are ready, they must always be cooked in broth before seasoning. So put a pot on the stove, bring the broth to a boil, then simmer the dumplings for about 12/15 minutes over low heat. If you don’t want or have time to prepare the Gorgonzola Sauce, you can simply season the dumplings once drained with melted butter flavored with sage.
In the last 5 minutes of cooking the dumplings, prepare the Gorgonzola sauce: it’s very easy and super quick. Just cut the cheese into pieces and put it in a saucepan with the cream. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally until the Gorgonzola has completely melted, and you have a smooth and homogeneous sauce. Once the dumplings are cooked, drain them and season with the freshly prepared GORGONZOLA SAUCE. Alternatively, you can season the spinach dumplings with just melted butter and Parmesan.
SPINACH DUMPLINGS THERMOMIX INGREDIENTS You will need: 8 oz stale bread, 3/4 cup milk, 13 oz spinach, 2 1/2 cups water, 2.5 oz onion, 1 garlic clove, 5 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp breadcrumbs, 2 oz grated Parmesan, 2 eggs, to taste salt, to taste black pepper, to taste nutmeg.
HOW TO MAKE SPINACH DUMPLINGS WITH THE THERMOMIX
1 – Put the cubed bread and milk in a container, mix, and set aside. Wash the spinach, then place them in the Varoma, add the water to the bowl, and position the Varoma vel. 2 time 15 min..
2 – Remove the Varoma, empty the remaining water from the bowl, squeeze the spinach well, and set aside. Put the chopped onion and garlic pieces in the clean and dry bowl: 3 sec. vel. 7. Gather on the bottom, add the butter in pieces: 3 min. Varoma temp. vel.1.
3 – Add the spinach: 6 min. 100°F vel. 1. Let cool for 20 minutes without a lid, occasionally stirring with a spatula. Add the breadcrumbs: 5 sec. vel. 7, gather on the bottom then again: 5 sec. vel. 7.
4 – Add: Parmesan, eggs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg: 20 sec. vel. 5. Then also add the soaked bread in milk without squeezing it: 20 sec. vel. 3 reverse.
5 – Check the consistency: if the mixture is too soft, add a little breadcrumbs; if too dry, add a little milk and blend again for a few seconds at vel. 3 reverse. Check that you have obtained a homogeneous mixture. Let the mixture rest in the closed bowl for 15 minutes. With the obtained mixture, hand-form 12 dumplings of about 70g each and boil them in boiling broth for about 15 minutes over low heat. Drain and season with hot melted butter and a sprinkle of Parmesan.
STORAGE
The spinach dumplings, once ready, can be stored, raw, in the fridge for up to 2 days. If they are already cooked and seasoned, for a maximum of 1 day. Alternatively, you can, always raw, place them on a tray (without overlapping) and freeze them; they will last up to a month.
NOTES AND TIPS
BREAD: According to the original dumplings recipe, the bread used for the dough should be the typical South Tyrolean rosette called kaisersemmel. Alternatively, you can choose a bread with a lot of crumb and a not too hard crust, and if you don’t have stale bread, just leave the fresh bread in the air for a day to dry it out.
PARMESAN: To have stringy spinach dumplings, you can replace the Parmesan in the dough with the same amount of mountain cheese like toma.
SPINACH: Following the same procedure, you can prepare Chard Dumplings simply by replacing them with spinach in the same quantity.
