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Sunday, June 28, 2015

Summer Kniddelen - Luxembourgish Creamy Mint and Pea Dumplings


Today I finally shot my summer Kniddel recipe. I've been planning this blog post for quite a while but never really took the time to cook it. Some of you may think that Kniddelen are only to enjoy during the cold months, but let me prove you wrong. I mean, many people eat pasta in summer and ice cream in winter. Why shouldn't we enjoy this delicious creamy mint and pea Kniddelen in summer then? Moreover, as hot summer days are pretty rare in Luxembourg anyways, the calendar season shouldn't keep you from cooking some doughy love. 


This recipe was inspired by a dinner I had a friend's last summer. After a long day at the beach volleyball court, he prepared us pasta with this hearty mint and pea sauce. After the first bite I thought, wow! this sauce would perfectly match with our traditional Kniddel recipe. Adding mint and peas to your dishes directly gives them a summery note. 

There exist many alternatives to the traditional Kniddel recipe, notably one with heavy cream and cheese. Developing this recipe I started from last summer's memories but obviously without measurements and proportions. It is a very flexible recipe so depending whether you prefer a strong mint note or not, you can easily change the proportions. 


For 4 servings you need: 
800g flour
5 eggs
450 ml milk
200g thinly slided bacon
200g peas
30g Parmesan 
250ml heavy cream
2 sprigs fresh mint


Pour all the flour into a large bowl at once and mound it like a volcano. Add four eggs into the hole and start beating. Then add the milk little by little and keep mixing until you get a very sticky dough.

In a large pot bring water to the boil. Add some salt, then turn the temperature down to middle heat. With two tablespoons, form little dumplings and throw them into the hot water. The Kniddelen are ready when floating on the surface. Depending on their size let them simmer for another 30 seconds.

To prepare the sauce, heat butter in a frying pan. Add the bacon and cook until brown and crispy. Chop the fresh mint leaves and add them to the bacon. In a small bowl whisk together the heavy cream and the egg yolk of the remaining egg. Add the liquid to the fried bacon and stir for a minute. Now throw in the peas and cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Finally add the Parmesan and stir again for 30 seconds. 

Pour the sauce over the Kniddelen, stir until they are well coated. Now you can serve them.

Enjoy!!! 


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