Like many Italian foods, canederli originated as peasant cuisine. The variations are endless, but these gnocchi are generally composed of stale bread kneaded with the garden's bounty and/or any leftover cheese and cold cut bits.
This hearty Alpine dumpling hails from South Tyrol in Trentino-Alto Adige, a northeastern region that borders Austria. Some versions — like the ones with spinach, red turnips, cheese, and speck — have become classics while sweet versions, such as those filled with peaches or prunes, make an excellent dessert.
How to make potato and chive canederli
Ingredients for 5
2 small potatoes
8 slices stale bread
½ white onion, finely chopped
¼ cup chickpea flour
1 cup vegan milk (soy, rice, oat, almond, etc.)
chives, chopped
vegetable broth (see recipe below)
sage
salt
pepper
extra-virgin olive oil
Method
Cut the bread into small cubes and soak them in the vegan milk, letting rest for at least 20 minutes. If the bread is particularly dry, add more milk.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the potatoes for 15 minutes (or until tender), Blanc them, then drain and peel them.
Saute the onion in a non-stick pan with a drizzle of oil until it withers and becomes translucent but not roasted.
Squeeze the bread to remove the excess liquid, and combine in a mixing bowl with the potatoes, onion, chives, and sage. Season with salt and pepper, and knead with your hands until the mixture is soft but compact.
Take a spoonful of the mixture and shape the canederli with wet hands.
Bring the vegetable broth to a boil, then add the canederli and let cook for around 12 minutes.
Serve with a ladle of hot broth or a drizzle of oil and chopped chives.
Vegetable broth
Ingredients
2 carrots
1 potato
1 onion
1 celery stalk
herbs of your choice
salt
Method
Clean the vegetables. Peel the carrots and the potato, and cut them into chunks. Remove the end of the celery stalk and divide the remaining stalk into 2 or 3 parts, then peel the onion and cut it in half.
Place all the ingredients into a large pot then add the herbs and 2 qt. water. Bring to a boil then lower the flame slightly and let simmer for at least an hour.
At the end of cooking, add salt and filter to separate the vegetables.
Store the broth in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze it in ice cube trays so you can use it a little at a time.
If you prefer, add black pepper, turmeric, ginger or saffron, or other vegetables, such as mushrooms, pumpkin, shallots, tomatoes, zucchini, and peas