Italy's Alpine comfort food.
While researching the history of Trentino Alto Adige's classic bread-based dumplings, what do we come across but yes, another legend! This one dates back to medieval times, but even better, the first official account of a canederlo has been found depicted as an ancient afresco!
In the green hills of Appiano outside Bolzano, on a wall in the chapel of Castello di Hocheppani, a recently discovered affresco dating 1180 shows the birth of Christ featuring Mary, Joseph and a humble-looking lady. Possibly a midwife but known as 'the Watcher', she's crouched over an open fire with a pan of 5 dumplings, busy tasting them with a fork. Now, we frequent this beautiful part of Italy regularly to visit our good friend Marika, and we always stop somewhere for lunch, immediately ordering canerderli off the menu, but never have we noticed this particular affresco with Mary regaining her strength thanks to a dish of local dumplings after a rather monumentous birth.
Canederli are bread-based - simple food, born from kitchen scraps like cucina povera - the cuisine of the poor, and served in twos or threes. The word derives from the German and Austrian 'knödel' (dumpling) from 'knot' (lump) and although in the end they're nothing extremely special (we'll get to the recipe soon), this is yet another example of how the simplest of foods become the most sublime in Italy. Originally from Bavaria, the canederlo is eaten there accompanied by meaty stew while in the north Italian provinces of Trentino and Alto Adige, canederli are typically served on their own in broth or in butter.
The legend
Legend says the humble canederlo was once thrown together in desperation by an Alpine innkeeper after a group of 'hangry' mercenaries returned from their pillaging to demand food. With only stale bread, milk, eggs and leftovers in her kitchen, the clever woman hastily fashioned a plate of delectable dumplings that not only sated the group of grumpy men but sent them all into a deep and peaceful sleep, so the canederlo was born.
Don't you love a good legend?
Variations
Canederli are made simply with bits and bobs from the kitchen, in fact, when you order them, they're often served as a 'tris' of three different types. Some of our favourites are green spinach or pink beetroot and another delicious autumnal version features porcini mushrooms. This is proper mountain food but is often fashioned as something more intricate, depending on where you choose to dine. The last plate of canerderli we enjoyed in Pian Cavallo had a crispy slice of pancetta placed on top - flavourful and delicious but far from the humble Watcher's pot or Innkeeper's recipe. Nevertheless, be sure to order canerderli if you spot them on a menu in Italy, although do note that you'll only find them north of Venice, and if we may give you two handy tips:
Always opt for butter (like us), not broth, and
Never use a knife to cut canerderli, only a fork because apparently it's an insult to the cook.
Find the innkeeper's famous recipe in our new cookbook Appetito ❤️
Buon canerderlo e buon appetito!
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