Kniddelen are a true Luxembourg classic. These humble boiled dumplings are traditionally eaten with bacon lardons and a side of apple compote. For this vegetarian version, I’m making a creamy sauce with Luxembourg’s favourite cheese, Kachkéis, and combining it with peppery rocket and walnuts for some crunch.
This is a recipe from my cookbook ‘Flavours of Home’.
For the Kniddelen:
375g flour
150g quark (40% fat content)
3 eggs
190ml milk
½ tsp salt
pepper
For the sauce:
200g cooked Kachkéis, 40% fat content
200ml white wine
440ml cream
8 tsp mustard
8 tsp cornstarch
90g rocket
4 tbsp walnuts, chopped
salt and pepper
Serves 4 – Prep 45’ – Vegetarian
Put all the Kniddelen ingredients into a large bowl and mix with an electric whisk until you get a smooth batter. Season with salt and pepper.
Fill a large saucepan with boiling water and add a generous pinch of salt. Grab portions of batter with a teaspoon, and dip it into the boiling water, pushing the batter off the spoon with a second spoon, so it slides into the saucepan and sinks to the bottom. Repeat until the bottom of the saucepan is covered with dumplings.
Keep boiling until the dumplings float to the surface – then leave them to cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the dumplings from the water with a slotted spoon and put into a bowl. Repeat this process until all the batter is used up.
Once they’re boiled, put the Kniddelen into a bowl, which you cover with a lid between additions to keep the Kniddelen warm.
For the sauce:
Put the Kachkéis and white wine into a saucepan and bring to the boil while stirring. Leave to cook for a minute, then add the cream and the mustard and heat through.
In a little jar dilute the cornstarch with a few tablespoons of the Kachkéis sauce, add back to the sauce and cook for a couple of minutes so the sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper, then add almost all the rocket and stir through. Add the cooked Kniddelen to the saucepan with the Kachkéis sauce and stir so that the pasta is evenly coated in sauce.
Divide between four plates and sprinkle each portion with chopped walnuts and top with a bit of remaining rocket for decoration.
Alternatives:
For the Kniddel batter: Omit the cream and use 100g quark instead. Or, replace the cream with cold sparkling water or beer (the bubbles will make for a light batter)
For the sauce:
– if you want to keep it traditional, fry some bacon lardons until crispy. Fry the cooked and slightly cooled Kniddelen in butter until slightly browned, then stir through the bacon.
– Make a mushroom sauce, here’s an easy recipe
– Add any kind of pasta sauce. I think creamy sauces work best, but be wild and try anything!
– Replace the pine nuts with walnuts
