Accussi Sicilian Bread Dumplings Recipes

ACCUSSI (SICILIAN BREAD DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• Soak the bread in the milk until soft. Squeeze out as much milk as possible and discard milk.
• Add egg, herbs, cheese, flour, salt and pepper to bread. Mix until it forms a dough; it will be quite sticky. Add more flour if needed, but do not add too much, nor overwork the dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and pat into a rectangle about 1/4" thick.
• Cut into squares 1/2-3/4" in size. Make a small indentation in each piece with your thumb. Spread on baking trays and set aside while making the sauce.
• Drain and reserve juice from tomatoes. Crush tomatoes with your hand in a bowl.
• Heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Add pancetta and saute until beginning to brown. Add garlic, onion, and red pepper flake; saute until onion softens and garlic is fragrant.
• Add thyme or oregano and tomatoes; cook until tomatoes begin to brown. Deglaze with red wine and cook until wine reduces by half. Add reserved tomato juice and water; simmer until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, add dumplings to boiling salted water in batches. When they rise to the surface, cook 1 minute, then remove with a slotted spoon or spider, and transfer to a bowl. Add a little sauce and toss to coat, then prepare the next batch of dumplings.
• Finish each serving with a little more sauce. Top with basil, cheese and parsley.

SEMMELKNOEDEL (BREAD DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• Place the bread cubes into a large bowl. Heat the milk until it starts to bubble at the edges, then pour it over the bread cubes. Stir briefly to coat the bread. Let soak for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions; cook and stir until tender. Stir in the parsley, and remove from the heat. Mix into the bowl with the bread along with the eggs, salt and pepper. Use your hands, squeezing the dough through your fingers until it is smooth and sticky.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. The water should be at least 3 or 4 inches deep. When the water is boiling, make a test dumpling about the size of a small orange or tangerine, by patting and cupping between wet hands. Gently drop into the boiling water. If it falls apart, the dough is too wet. In this case, stir some bread crumbs into the rest of the dumpling batter.
• Form the remaining dough into large dumplings, and carefully drop into the boiling water. Simmer for 20 minutes, then remove to a serving plate with a large slotted spoon. They should come out soft, spongy and delicious!