Canederli al Radicchio e Speck

I recently treated myself to the book “Alpine Cooking: Recipes and Stories from Europe’s Grand Mountaintops,” by Meredith Erickson. As the title indicates, it’s a culinary traipse through the alpine regions of Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and France.

Anyone who’s known me more than five minutes knows that an alpine holiday has long been a fantasy of mine—not for the skiing, mind you, but for the food. Rich dumplings! Mountain cheeses! Speck! Schnitzel! In 2018, my family enjoyed Christmas in Aosta, in Italy’s northwest corner, where we (over)indulged in polenta and apple fritters. But this book shows me that there is much more to explore. It’s a large book, with plenty of photographs both grand (mountainscapes) and enticing (plates of soup and pots of fondue), and recipes to match.

Paging through, my eye immediately fell on this recipe for canederli with radicchio and speck—smoked prosciutto that is a specialty of Alto Adige. What are canederli? Simply put, they are oversized bread dumplings. But that description doesn’t do them justice. For all their heft, they are surprisingly light and fluffy, and truly enjoyable to eat. (You’ll find a recipe for canederli poached in broth in my first book, “The Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy.”)

Erickson’s recipe calls for sautéing chopped radicchio di Treviso (a beautiful, elongated deep red and white chicory) and combining the cooked vegetable with milk-soaked bread, speck, Grana Padano or Parmigiano cheese, and a handful of other ingredients. The dumplings are boiled in salted water and served simply dressed with melted butter.

It’s nearly impossible to find radicchio di Treviso here in Virginia, so I substituted radicchio di Chioggia—the round radicchio sold in most supermarkets—and found it worked nicely. It’s worth searching out speck, which has a distinct smoky flavor that adds depth to these tender dumplings. If you can’t find it, substitute good-quality smoked ham.

Serve canederli as a first course for Sunday dinner, as a main course on any night, or as a side to a roast.

CANEDERLI AL RADICCHIO E SPECK
Makes 12 dumplings, to serve 4 as a main course, 6 as a side
(adapted slightly from Alpine Cooking, by Meredith Erickson)

INGREDIENTS
300 g (11 ounces) sturdy bread, crusts removed
200 ml (scant 1 cup) whole milk, warmed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot, minced
300 g (11 ounces) radicchio di Treviso or radicchio di Chioggia, finely chopped
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
50 g (packed 1/2 cup) freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
200 g (7 ounces) speck, finely diced
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons fine dried bread crumbs
60 ml (4 tablespoons) melted butter

INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a large bowl, combine the bread and warm milk and stir to moisten. Set aside for 30 minutes.

2. Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Don’t let it brown. Stir in the radicchio and cook, stirring often, until wilted and just tender, about 10 minutes (the radicchio will lose its bright red hue). Season with about 1/2 teaspoon salt and a grinding of pepper. Set aside.

3. Add the eggs, grated cheese, and speck to the soaked bead mixture. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and a good grating of nutmeg. Mix well. Then add the cooled radicchio mixture, flour, and bread crumbs and mix well with your hands until homogeneous. The dough should come together but feel slightly tacky.

4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it generously. Melt the butter in a small pan and cover to keep it warm.

5. Moisten your hands and divide the dough into twelve equal portions. Working with one portion at a time, shape the dough into a tight ball. Be sure to pack it well. This step will help the dumplings stay intact during cooking.

6. Slide the dumplings into the boiling water and simmer for 12 minutes, until they are fluffed up and floating and heated through. (Don’t worry if a few bits of the mixture dislodge from the dumplings.) Use a skimmer to transfer the dumplings to shallow bowls, taking care to let any excess water drip off them. Spoon melted butter over them, followed by a spoonful or two of grated cheese. Serve hot.