This week's Forking column gets down to the dirty truth about what your surroundings say about you. For the sake of making a good impression on your would-be significant other, make damn sure to clean your bathroom. As for your kitchen, have a pot of this German bread dumpling soup bubbling away on your stove and call it good.
The recipe is after the jump.
Simple German Bread dumpling soup Makes 4 servings
Ingredients: ¾ pound day-old bread, finely diced ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 cup milk 3 eggs 1 tablespoon minced parsley Salt A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg 1 small onion, minced 1 tablespoon flour 1 quart quality broth (meat or vegetable)
Cook's notes: You won't worry over good bread going stale when you whip up bowls of this herbed, cold-weather charmer. Makes a nice first course, too.
Prepare the bread: Saute bread cubes briefly in ¼ cup butter. Transfer to a bowl.
Make the dumpling mixture: In another bowl, blend eggs and milk together until frothy. Add parsley, salt and nutmeg and pour over bread. Saute the onion in the remaining tablespoon of butter until translucent, then mix that into the bread. Let mixture rest for a half hour.
Cook the dumplings: Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Sprinkle flour over bread mixture and mix in. Wet hands and shape into 8 balls. (Add a bit more milk if necessary.) Drop the canederli into the slightly salted water and cook for about 15 minutes.
Presentation: Heat broth. Transfer the cooked bread balls to the broth with a slotted spoon and serve. Feel free to add carrots and celery to broth or just serve with the broth, salt and pepper to taste.
