Bread dumplings with bacon

A great way to use up stale bread is to make Italian canederli dumplings. This might not be a light dish but it is filling comfort food when bathed in brown butter or served in a bowl of broth. The better the bread, the better the dumplings. I’ve adapted Ann Hicks’s recipe from The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Serves 6

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes per batch

• 8 thick bread slices, crusts removed • 200ml milk, heated

• 1L meat stock

• 2 extra-large eggs, beaten

• 8 rashers bacon, diced and fried crisply • ½ onion, very finely chopped

• 60ml Parmesan, finely grated

• 30ml flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

• a pinch of nutmeg

• about 125ml flour

1 Break the bread into chunks and mix in the milk; soak for about 10 minutes. Squeeze out any excess milk and place the bread in a mixing bowl. 2 In the meantime, bring the stock to the boil in a pot.

3 Mix the eggs, bacon, onion, Parmesan, parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg with the soaked bread. Add enough flour to form a soft ‘dough’ that can be rolled into balls. Roll the mixture into 12 dumplings about 8cm in diameter. 4 Cook the dumplings in batches in the stock for about 15 minutes; they will puff up slightly and float. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and repeat until all the dumplings are cooked through.

Serve two per person with an extra sprinkling of crispy bacon and parsley.