Spinach & Parmesan Bread Dumplings

My boys are fairly good at eating vegetables. They prefer them raw, and will eat any amount of tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, kohlrabi, and – their latest discovery – sugar snap peas. They are not as keen on cooked vegetables, but I think it is a texture thing as e.g. they won’t touch broccoli, but don’t mind it as soup, and I have had made similar experience with them, with e.g. pumpkin or celeriac soup. They will eat their body-weight in cooked peas and sweetcorn though, and Mr Fox especially will devour any corn on the cob you put in front of him. But one vegetable I hadn’t been able to get them enthusiastic about, in any shape or form, was spinach. Until I came across a recipe for spinach and parmesan dumplings in a German magazine my mum brought with her the other week. It’s a bit labour intensive, nut totally worth it. I already had some tins of sweetcorn on hand as a backup, but they gobbled them up and then asked when I could next make some more. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!

spinach parmesan dumplings 01

Ingredients (makes 12)

  • 375g (gluten free) white bread*
  • 2 small shallots
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 210ml milk
  • a couple pinches of nutmeg, freshly grated if possible
  • 400g baby leaf spinach
  • 3 eggs, size M
  • 60g finely grated Parmesan

* Usually I hate the fact, that gluten free bread falls apart so easily, but in this case the floppier the bread, the better!

spinach parmesan dumplings 02

Directions

  • Cut the bread in to small cubes.
  • Peel and finely chop the shallots, then melt the butter in a saucepan and cook the shallots in it for a couple of minutes until they start to go translucent.
  • Warm up the milk and season it with the nutmeg.
  • Mix together the bread, shallots and milk in a bowl, then cover the bowl with a plate and set aside for 10 minutes, so that the bread can soak up all the moisture and the flavours can infuse.
  • Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the spinach for about 1 minute, then drain and immediately run it under cold water until cooled down. Squeeze out as much water as you can, and finely chop it.
  • Whisk the eggs and mix them in to the spinach.
  • Add the spinach-egg mixture and the grated Parmesan to the bread mixture and knead well until you have a smooth-ish dough (if you want it even smoother, you can cut the crusts of your bread, but I quite like it with a few chunky bits in it).
  • With wet hands, form 12 dumplings out of the dough (you will need to keep re-wetting them, so that the dough doesn’t stick to your hands). Cover them with a damp kitchen cloth, and leave to rest for another 10 minutes.
  • Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, then lower the heat. Carefully add the dumplings and leave to simmer for 10 – 15 minutes. Do not let them boil!
  • To serve, drizzle the dumplings with some melted butter and sprinkle more grated Parmesan on top. We had ours with oven roast cherry tomatoes for the adults, and fresh, halved cherry tomatoes for the kids. The dumplings are so filling, that you really don’t need anything further with them. We had a couple left over, and they tasted very nice heated up for lunch the next day too.

spinach parmesan dumplings 03

This recipe was adapted from a recipe in Brigitte magazine.

 

Spinach & Parmesan Bread Dumplings
Author: Jenni Fuchs | The Bear & The Fox
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 375g white bread
  • 2 small shallots
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 210ml milk
  • a couple pinches of nutmeg, freshly grated if possible
  • 400g baby leaf spinach
  • 3 eggs, size M
  • 60g finely grated Parmesan
Instructions
  1. Cut the bread in to small cubes.
  2. Peel and finely chop the shallots, then melt the butter in a saucepan and cook the shallots in it for a couple of minutes until they start to go translucent.
  3. Warm up the milk and season it with the nutmeg.
  4. Mix together the bread, shallots and milk in a bowl, then cover the bowl with a plate and set aside for 10 minutes, so that the bread can soak up all the moisture and the flavours can infuse.
  5. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the spinach for about 1 minute, then drain and immediately run it under cold water until cooled down. Squeeze out as much water as you can, and finely chop it.
  6. Whisk the eggs and mix them in to the spinach.
  7. Add the spinach-egg mixture and the grated Parmesan to the bread mixture and knead well until you have a smooth-ish dough (if you want it even smoother, you can cut the crusts of your bread, but I quite like it with a few chunky bits in it).
  8. With wet hands, form 12 dumplings out of the dough (you will need to keep re-wetting them, so that the dough doesn’t stick to your hands). Cover them with a damp kitchen cloth, and leave to rest for another 10 minutes.
  9. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, then lower the heat. Carefully add the dumplings and leave to simmer for 10 – 15 minutes. Do not let them boil!
  10. To serve, drizzle the dumplings with some melted butter and sprinkle more grated Parmesan on top. We had ours with oven roast cherry tomatoes for the adults, and fresh, halved cherry tomatoes for the kids. The dumplings are so filling, that you really don’t need anything further with them. We had a couple left over, and they tasted very nice heated up for lunch the next day too.
Notes
Gluten Free

Comments: 13

  • reply
    27 November 2017

    What a great way of adding extra veg to a meal. It’s great your kids are so open to vegetables, I know many adults that won’t touch them. Drives me potty!

    Katie xoxo

  • reply
    27 November 2017

    Oh, these look interesting. I’ll have to give them a go to see if my brood will eat them. :)

  • reply
    27 November 2017

    I love the sound of these. I might be giving them a go very soon. Thank you!

  • reply
    27 November 2017

    Oh yummy! I bet these would be fantastic added to a soup. I’ve never tried making dumplings before.

  • reply
    27 November 2017

    I never would have thought of putting these together. My hubby would love them

  • reply

    Kat

    27 November 2017

    Ooh, what a good idea! I’ll definitely have to give these a go. I’m imagining them in a soup right now. And feeling hungry!

    Kat x

  • reply
    27 November 2017

    I love that you have taken dumplings and made them into something delicious and healthy! I can imagine these would be delicious with gravy too! x

  • reply
    28 November 2017

    Parmesan and spinach are two of my faves so I would def need to try that! It looks so healthy too!

  • reply
    29 November 2017

    I like the look of this dish. Looks very tasty. Will be trying the recipe.

  • reply
    30 November 2017

    These look amazing! Anything to get some greens into my daughter! Thankyou x

  • reply
    2 December 2017

    These look really yummy! And who doesn’t love a dumping!

  • reply

    rob

    1 November 2018

    love dumplings ,thank you so much

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