🇦🇹 Austria
GrießnockerlsuppeAustrian semolina dumpling soup
A clear beef broth served with Grießnockerl, small oval dumplings of coarse semolina, butter and egg, seasoned with nutmeg and shaped with two spoons, garnished with chives or parsley.
Origin and history
Grießnockerlsuppe is a classic Austrian soup of clear beef broth with small semolina dumplings, among the traditional garnishes (Einlagen) of the Viennese Rindsuppe. Austria's national tourist board compares Austrian Nockerl to Italian gnocchi in name and preparation, noting that semolina gnocchi are rarely found in soup in Italy but are very common in Austrian soups.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 4 servings
- Total time
- 1 h
- Hands-on
- 25 min
Ingredients
- 120 g2/3 cup coarse semolina (Nockerlgrieß), durum semolina or coarse semolina; not fine
- 60 g4 tbsp butter, soft, at room temperature
- 1 egg, about 60 g; if smaller use slightly less butter and semolina
- salt, a pinch for the dough, plus plenty for the cooking water
- 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg, very small
- 1 litre4 1/4 cups strong, hot, clear beef broth (Rindsuppe), see the Rindsuppe page for how to make it
- fresh chives or parsley, finely chopped
Method
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1. Cream the soft butter in a bowl until fluffy and season with a pinch of salt and a very small pinch of nutmeg.
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2. Beat in the egg vigorously.
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3. Sprinkle over the semolina, stir it in and smooth the surface.
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4. Cover and rest the mixture for 15 to 20 minutes so the semolina swells and the mixture firms.
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5. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil.
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6. Dip two spoons in hot water and shape the mixture into oval dumplings (Nockerl), sliding each into the water.
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7. Bring the water back to the boil once, then lower the heat and simmer gently, not boiling hard, for 10 to 15 minutes, turning them carefully now and then.
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8. Lift the dumplings out with a slotted spoon, place them in warm soup plates and pour over the hot broth.
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9. Sprinkle with chives or parsley and serve at once.
Notes
- The tourist board says the dumplings can also be cooked directly in the broth, but that may cloud it, so they are poached in salted water here, and do not leave them sitting in the soup: they soak up liquid, turn soggy.
- Resting the shaped dumplings briefly on a lightly oiled board before cooking helps them puff up.
- Austria's tourist board notes that Nockerl resemble Italian gnocchi in name and method; semolina gnocchi are seldom found in soup in Italy but very common in Austrian soups.
- This is one of several Einlagen for the clear beef soup; the Rindsuppe page here is served with Frittaten instead. Make-ahead: dumplings can be cooked an hour ahead and reheated in a little hot broth just before serving.
Adapted from Österreich Werbung, Grießnockerlsuppe (recipe by Renate Wagner) and Wien Tourismus, Klassische Wiener Rindsuppe mit diversen Einlagen.
At the festivals
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