Bonemarrow Dumplings

Markklößchen
Bone marrow Dumplings

This soup started many festive meals in our family and many of our friends were looking forward to a bowl of dumplings.
But you had to be careful serving it, count all dumplings and the heads around the table, so you have an even number to serve. Better let some dumplings stay back in the kitchen, then serve a bowl without the same amount of dumplings as the others.
Everybody around the table was secretly counting dumplings in the other bowls. And no one wanted to be served short.

 Markklößchen

Recipe:

2 beef marrow bones

1 egg

1 egg yolk

80-100 g breadcrumbs

1 pinch of salt, pepper and dried thyme, fresh parsley

1 good grating of nutmeg

1 liter water

2 beef stock cubes

1 hand full of celery, carrot, turnip or other veggies

1 chilli 

1 clove of garlic

Prepare the dough:

scrape the marrow into a small pan and over medium heat melt it. Put the fluid through a sieve to prevent any kind of bone pieces to get through and let it cool down. Chop the parsley and separate one egg. Add this together with the whole egg to the fat.

Whip the mixture:

 to get a smooth dough, whip and season the mixture before you add the breadcrumbs. When the breadcrumbs are combined, use a fork to do it, let it rest for 20 minutes. 

Make one dumpling the size of a 2,5 cm ball , heat up the broth and put this dumpling in. When it holds its form, the consistency is ok. Add the scraped out marrow bone and the veggies to the soup, cook it for 15 minutes. During this time roll all the other dumplings.

Cook the dumplings:

Add all the dumplings to the broth and let them simmer for 12  minutes.  Fish out the marrow bones, add some fresh parsley to the soup and some more seasoning and serve it with the dumplings.

Don´t underestimate the diversity of dumplings.

Marillenknödel

Austrian style apricot filled potato dumplings. You can eat them as a full meal or serve them as a sweet treat after a meal. Kids will love them, too.
I remember them from the summer holiday we had spent in the Villach region in Austria, when I was 12 years old. There was a big family restaurant, which served mostly specialties from Austria. And a full plate of sweet dumplings, what else would a child look for.

At home, my Mom made them every year during Apricot season and I was looking forward to them.
Now I am making them myself and still have the memories of my childhood, while enjoying them.

And following the apricot season in late August, the plum season starts with the plum filled dumplings.  I´m still not sure, which dumplings are my favorite ones.

Marillenknödel
 

Recipe:
1,2 kg floury potatoes
50 g Cornstarch
200-250 g plain flour
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 kg apricots
15 sugar cubes
100 ml apricot brandy or peach liquor
300 g breadcrumbs
120 g butter
3 tsp cinnamon
1 cup vanilla custard
150 ml apple juice

Prepare the Potato Dough:
cook the potatoes in salted water until soft, drain them and push them through a potato ricer when still warm, let them cool and mix flour, starch, egg and salt .You cab make that the day ahead.

Prepare the Apricots:
for 12 dumplings pit 12 apricots and put a sugar cube dipped in apricot brandy inside.the rest of the apricots get pitted and cooked in apple juice with the rest of the brandy and some cinnamon.

Prepare the dumplings:
grab a piece of dough and flat it out in your hand, put an apricot inside and fold the dough over. roll to a ball.

Cook the dumplings and prepare the crumbs:
in 2 huge hots with salted boiling water, place the dumplings in an reduce the heat to a slow cook, when they float up, they need 20 minutes. Heat he butter in the pan and put in the breadcrumbs and cinnamon and brown it. When the dumplings are done, drain them and roll them in the breadcrumbs for a good coating. Serve with vanilla custard and apricot coulis.