INGREDIENTS
- Stale bread 250 g
- Speck 150 g
- White onions 50 g
- Eggs (medium) 2
- Whole milk 250 g
- Butter 10g
- Black pepper q.b.
- Parsley q.b.
- Chives q.b.
To prepare the dumplings, known as balòteor bale, first prepare the meat broth to keep warm. Peel and finely chop the onion and cut the speck into pieces of about 2-3 mm.
In a pan, melt the butter over low heat and pour the onion and speck, browning them for 5 minutes and stirring often. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Chop the chives and the sprig of parsley and cut the stale bread into approximately 0.5 cm cubes.
Pour the bread into a bowl and add the milk (start by putting 200 g and if the dough is dry and not very malleable, add some), add the eggs, chives and chopped parsley.
Continue by adding the now warmed speck and onion and start mixing to mix everything. If the dough is dry, add some more milk. If, on the other hand, it is too sticky or soft, add a pinch of flour. Once ready, lightly moisten your hands with cold water and form the dumplings with a diameter of about 5 cm by swirling the dough in your hands.
Place them gradually on a tray: with the indicated doses they should be about 10. Once ready, you can cook them in boiling meat broth for about 15 minutes over medium heat.
You can replace the speck with pancetta or lucanica.
The original recipe calls for broth, but if you prefer them dry, you can simply season with butter and grated cheese or lay in the sauce with beef goulash.
