HOW TO MAKE AUTHENTIC ITALIAN RISOTTO alla MILANESE For Beginners
- ciacookitalianabroad
Canederli with Tuscan kale and saffron
- Vegetarian
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: 40 min
- Cook time: 25 min
- Serving: 4
- Note + 20 minutes' resting time for the dough
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PRESENTATION
Canederli with Tuscan kale and saffron take the Italian bread dumplings of Alto Adige tradition and push them somewhere more deliberate: saffron goes into both the dough and the smooth, velvety cream served alongside, so its warmth and intense yellow run all the way through the dish. The dumplings themselves are built around cavolo nero, toma, and Parmigiano, then cooked in two stages—boiled first, finished in butter—to produce a lightly golden crust around a tender, flavorful center.
The boil-then-brown sequence isn't fussy for its own sake. The butter crust gives each dumpling enough structure to sit in the saffron cream without absorbing it, keeping the yellow and the dark green as distinct on the plate as they are in flavor. That contrast is earned by how the dish is built, not added at the end.
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INGREDIENTS
- Italian kale (cavolo nero) 7 oz (200 g) - to be cleaned
- Saffron 0.03 tsp (0.15 g) - (1 packet)
- Toma cheese 2 oz (50 g)
- Stale bread 5.3 oz (150 g)
- Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese 4 tbsp (20 g)
- Eggs 2
- Fine salt to taste
- Type 00 flour 0.9 oz (25 g)
- Whole milk ⅓ cup (80 g)
- Butter 3 ½ tbsp (50 g)
- For the saffron sauce
- Saffron 0.005 oz (0.15 g) - (1 sachet)
- Fresh liquid cream 0.8 cup (200 g)
- Fine salt to taste
Preparation
How to prepare Canederli with Tuscan kale and saffron
To prepare the canederli with Tuscan kale and saffron, first break the stale bread into pieces and transfer it to a bowl, then pour over the milk 1 and let it soak. In the meantime, clean the Tuscan kale by removing the tougher central ribs 2, then boil the leaves in salted boiling water for 5–7 minutes or until tender 3.
Once cooked, drain them and squeeze well to remove excess water 4. Let them cool, then chop them finely with a knife 5. Transfer the chopped Tuscan kale to a bowl, then take the soaked bread, squeeze it well with your hands and add it to the kale 6.
Add the grated Parmesan 7, the eggs 8 and the salt 9.
Add the grated toma 10. Meanwhile dissolve the saffron in a little warm water 11, stirring with a teaspoon until you obtain a homogeneous liquid 12.
Pour the dissolved saffron into the dough 13, then add the flour 14. Knead well with your hands until you obtain a homogeneous, compact mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. After resting, take the dough and portion it out one piece at a time. Work each portion between the palms of your hands to form spheres, similar to meatballs 15.
With these quantities you will obtain about 12 canederli 16. Bring the water in which you boiled the kale back to a boil, adjust the salt if necessary and gently immerse the canederli 17. Let them cook for at least 5 minutes. Meanwhile, melt a knob of butter (about 1 tbsp) in a skillet over low heat 18.
Drain the canederli 19 directly into the skillet with the butter 20 and sauté them over medium-high heat, turning them gently 21 and spooning the melted butter over them, until they achieve a light, even golden color.
Now make the saffron sauce: pour the heavy cream into a small saucepan 22, add salt and let it reduce slightly over low heat for about 5 minutes. When it has reached the desired consistency, turn off the heat and add the saffron 23. Stir thoroughly until you obtain a smooth, creamy sauce with an intense yellow color 34.
Spoon a little saffron sauce onto the bottom of each plate 25, then place 3 canederli per serving on top and finish with some of the cooking butter 26. Your canederli with Tuscan kale and saffron are ready to be served hot 27.
Storage
Tip
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