Curiosità e ricette della tradizione altoatesina

Ingredients (approx. 8 pieces)

• 150 g old bread
• 40 g flour
• 20g butter
• 100ml milk
• 2 big eggs
• 50gr onion
• 100gr speck
• Parsley
• Chives
• Salt and pepper

Canederli are large gnocchi made from old bread to which a variety of ingredients can be added, from the more common speck to cheese, spinach, red turnips, mushrooms, pumpkin, liver and much more. Canederli are eaten as a main dish with melted butter and parmesan cheese, in broth or as a side dish with goulash, roasts and other meat dishes.

They are prepared by cutting the bread into cubes of about 1cm while melting the butter and frying the onion in a frying pan on the side. Add all the ingredients to the bread cubes: flour, bacon, eggs, parsley, salt, pepper, melted butter, onion and milk. Knead the mixture until it is completely moist and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Now form the gnocchi by pressing them well and boil them in salted water for 15 minutes.

Tip: Wet your hands before pressing each gnocco so that the Canederli do not fall apart in the water.

Once cooked, serve the Canederli in a meat stock sprinkled with chives.

For cheese Canederli, instead of speck, add a mix of 100g of cheese.

For the spinach Canederli reduce the milk to 50ml and pan-fry 200g of spinach together with the onions in melted butter. Once cooked, blend the spinach with the eggs and add to the rest of the mixture.

Schlutzkrapfen are crescent-shaped ravioli filled with ricotta and spinach. They are served with melted butter, grated Parmesan cheese and chives.

Ingredients for the dough (4 persons):

• 150gr rye flour
• 100 g soft wheat flour
• 1 egg
• 60ml lukewarm water
• 1 tablespoon oil
• Pinch of salt

Ingredients for the filling

• 150gr cooked spinach
• 50g onion
• ½ clove of garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 100gr ricotta cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Chives
• Nutmeg
• Salt and pepper

Mix the two types of flour and the salt with the lukewarm water, the oil and the egg. Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes and in the meantime cook the spinach in a pan with butter, onion and garlic.
After the cooked spinach has cooled, add the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, chives, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Roll out the pastry very thin, preferably with a pastry cutter, and cup it in a round mould with a diameter of 7cm. Place a teaspoon of spinach mass in the center of the pastry rounds, moisten the edges of the round and close it in half to form the famous half-moon. Press the edges together well to make them stick.

Cook the Schlutzkrapfen in salted water for 3-4 minutes and then serve with melted butter, chives and grated Parmesan cheese.

Barley soup is a hearty dish containing vegetables, cereals and meat. It can therefore be eaten as a single dish and is ideal for cold winter days.

Ingredients (4 persons)

• 150 g barley
• 1 ½ l meat broth
• 1 onion
• 30 g carrot
• 30 g celery
• 20 g potato
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 80 g smoked meat
• one bay leaf
• chives

Melt the butter and add the diced onion, carrot and celery.

Rinse the barley in a colander under cold water and add it to the mirepoix. Now add the stock, the smoked meat and diced potatoes and the bay leaf. Cook until the stock has reduced (30-40 minutes). At the end, add the chives, salt and pepper.

Ingredients for the sauce

• 4 eggs
• 4-6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons chives, finely chopped

For the asparagus

• 5 kg Terlan asparagus (original brand name "Margarete")
• 50 g butter
• salt
• 1 pinch of sugar

Boil the eggs for 8 minutes, rinse with cold water and peel. Separate the yolks, pass through a sieve and mix slowly and constantly with the olive oil until a thick mixture is obtained. Gradually stir in the white wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Finally, add the chives and coarsely chopped egg whites.

Wash the asparagus and peel them from the tips, cutting off the woody ends of the stalks if necessary. If you don't have the option of cooking the asparagus vertically with the tips up, you can also lay them out in a pan and cover them with water. Add the butter, salt and sugar, cover with buttered baking paper and steam gently until almost all the liquid has evaporated (about 20 minutes).

Tip: Serve preferably with boiled potatoes and a good cooked ham or Easter ham.

Ingredients

• 5 eggs
• 1 pinch of salt
• 600 ml milk
• 500 g flour
• 60 g butter
• Icing sugar for decoration
• Cranberry jam or your choice of jam

Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and add the milk gradually until the mixture is frothy. Continue to beat the mixture with the whisk and add the flour a little at a time. Melt the butter in a frying pan, pour in the mixture and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally. When it is well toasted, cut it into pieces, place it on a plate, sprinkle it with icing sugar and add the jam on the side.

Ingredients for the shortcrust pastry

• 300 g flour
• 200g butter
• 100g icing sugar
• 1 egg (or 2 yolks)
• 1 sachet vanillin
• Grated lemon peel
• 1 pinch of salt

Mix the flour with the butter cut into cubes, the icing sugar, the egg, the vanillin, the lemon peel and a pinch of salt until the mixture becomes homogeneous and the butter is no longer visible.

Let the dough rest wrapped in cling film for about an hour in the fridge.

Ingredients for the filling

• 4 apples
• 50 g sugar
• 50 g breadcrumbs
• 20 g pine nuts
• 1 sachet vanillin
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 egg for brushing

Peel the apples and cut them into slices. In a bowl mix them with sugar, breadcrumbs, pine nuts, vanilla and cinnamon. Roll out the dough into a rectangular/oval shape on a floured pastry board and place it on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Place the apple filling in the middle and along the length of the pastry and brush the edges with beaten egg. Place the edges on top of the apples to close the strudel and brush the whole surface with egg. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with icing sugar.

Canederli are also good in a sweet version, not just a savoury one! The dough is made of potatoes instead of bread, and the filling can be made with seasonal fruit: plums, apricots, strawberries, cherries, fresh figs or berries.

Ingredients for the dough (12 dumplings)

• 400 g potatoes
• 2 egg yolks
• 120 g flour
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Salt, nutmeg

Further ingredients

• 12 apricots/plums/ figs etc...
• 6 sugar cubes
• 70 g sugar
• 150 g breadcrumbs
• 70 g butter
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Peel and cut the potatoes into cubes, cook them in salted water for 15 minutes, drain and leave to cool until lukewarm. Press them into a puree, add the egg yolks and butter and mix. Allow the mixture to cool and add the flour, salt and nutmeg.

Cut the fruit in half and remove the stones, if any. Replace the stone with half a sugar cube.

Divide the dough into 12 loaves and flatten them like pizzas. Wrap the dough around the fruit and close tightly until the closure is no longer noticeable.

Boil in salted water for 15 minutes.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the toasted breadcrumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Drain the dumplings from the water and turn them in the pan until they are well coated in breadcrumbs.

The South Tyrolean aperitif that rivals the classic spritz in summer: cool and refreshing, with Alpine flavours!

• 15cl sparkling wine or prosecco
• 2cl elderflower syrup
• 1 drop of soda or mineral water
• a few fresh mints leave

Pour 2cl elderflower syrup, 15cl sparkling wine or prosecco, a dash of soda or mineral water into a wine glass and serve with a few ice cubes and fresh mint.

Mulled wine is a delicious and tasty drink, which in the winter months and especially during the Christmas period warms and cheers up.

• 750 ml Schiava wine or a not too full-bodied red table wine
• 50 g sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 cloves
• 1 star anise

Put the wine in a saucepan and cook it with the sugar and the spices until just before boiling when a little foam begins to form. Turn off the flame and pour into cups.

The traditional fruit bread is a mix of oriental spices, southern fruits and South Tyrolean goodness.

Preparation time: 2 hours

Ingredients for 4 people

• water
• 20 g yeast
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 150 g flour
• 100 g rye flour
• 15 g salt
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp anise
• 1 tsp cumin
• 500 g dried figs, diced or cut into strips
• 250 g raisin
• 120 g sultanas
• 120 g mixed nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts, peanuts), chopped
• 120 g pine nuts
• 50 g candied lemon peel
• 50 g candied orange peel
• 50 ml white wine
• 3 tbsp rum
• 70 g honey
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp grated orange zest
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 pinch of clove powder
• 1 pinch of allspice
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• walnuts, hazelnuts or peeled almonds and candied cherries for decoration
• honey or sugar syrup to brush on

Preparation

Mix the yeast and sugar with the warm water and leave to rise for 10 minutes. Add the flour, rye flour, salt, oil, anise, cumin and knead the dough in a kneading machine. Leave to rise at 35 degrees (covered) for 30 minutes. Marinate in rum and honey for at least 1 hour the figs, raisin, sultanas, mixed nuts, pine nuts, almonds, candied lemon peel, candied orange peel in white wine, so that the zelten acquires a good aroma. Add the grated lemon zest, grated orange zest, cinnamon, clove powder, allspice and nutmeg. Mix the bread dough with the marinated fruits and nuts in the kneading machine. Form round or elongated zelten and decorate with the nuts and almonds. Place them on a baking tray and leave to rest for another 20 minutes. Bake in the preheated oven, brushing frequently with honey or sugar syrup, until they are a deep brown colour. Allow to cool, decorate with candied cherries, then wrap in cling film.

Baking temperature: 170° C, cooking time: approx. 40 minutes.