Mixer optional #1

No, I am not abandoning my blog already. I had planned to have the stool I had repainted as next post, but since it’s been raining for over a week now, I couldn’t take any pictures outside.

(Now you may ask why I’m not just taking a picture inside. For these three reasons: 1. There is better lighting outside; 2. There’s not really much space in here…; and most importantly 3. I’d have to clean)

Not wanting my blog to die this early on, I decided to at least post a recipe or two in the meantime.

I love recipes for which you don’t need any electric equipment – mostly because there is less washing up for later. So here you go, one meal today, and one dessert tomorrow.

Grießnockerl

You may ask yourself 'what the heck are – is that a B?' at this point. First off, no, that is not a weird looking B, it’s ß, a sharp sounding S.
Grießnockerl, if you want to trust my translation skills, are semolina dumplings. I actually only found out today that Grieß was Semolina in English. Sounds more like a sickness to me…

Anyway, Grießnockerl are the main ingredient of Grießnockerlsuppe, or semolina dumpling soup (which sounds really weird).
I got this recipe, which is so simple, you could almost not call it a recipe, from my grandma. Who, by the way, is probably the best cook to have ever walked this earth. No, I am not kidding. She makes vegetables taste delicious, she’s magic.

100g semolina
50g butter
1 egg
salt

 I made 5 times as much, in the pictures, so I could freeze some of the dumplings.

 Beat together the semolina and the butter until it looks like bread crumbs.

 Well...sticky breadcrumbs.

 Add the egg(s) and salt (to your liking) and mix everything together to form a dough.

 If the dough looks too soft, just add some more semolina.

Now go make some soup. (I usually just use stock cubes, and maybe carrots, if I have any)

 Now back to the dumplings: You can do it like I always do, and just spoon out some dough and drop it into the hot soup. Or, if you are bored and want nicer looking dumplings, you can take two spoons and make them all uniform. My sad attempt at a nice looking one on the left, and the way I always do it, on the right.

Note #1: If you dip the spoon into the soup before plopping in dumplings, the dough won’t stick to the spoon.

 Note #2: Keep in mind that the dumplings will soak up the soup, meaning they will expand. So don’t make them too big, because they will get bigger. (who am I to say anything, just look at those things!)

After all your dumplings are in the soup, keep it on medium-high heat for some minutes, then turn it down to a low heat and let it simmer for ten more minutes.

Now the hardest part: turn off the stove and leave.
Yes, you read that right, the soup is done cooking, but you’re not allowed to eat it!

When you let the soup sit like that, the dumplings will absorb more soup, making them fluffy. If you eat them right after cooking, the center may still be firm, which doesn’t make them taste bad, but come on, fluffy is always better.

After half an hour, take a dumpling and cut it in half (or take a bite). If the center is still firm, your dumplings are probably pretty big, so maybe let them simmer a bit more, on low heat.

 Guten Appetit!