Stuffed dumplings with sauerkraut and bacon sauce, milk soup as a starter

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 gr. can/n sauerkraut, mild
• 100 g bacon, fatty or streaky, diced
• 1 large onion(s), diced
• 1 shot of white wine
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 cloves
• 3 juniper berries
• 1 pinch(s) of sugar
• Salt and pepper, freshly ground
• some water
• 1 pack of ready-made potato dumpling mix, half and half
• 1 onion(s), diced
• 1 nutmeg
• possibly marjoram
• 500 g minced meat
• 1 bread roll, soaked in water from the day before
• 1 egg(s)
• 1 large onion(s), diced
• breadcrumbs
• 500 ml milk
• 2 tbsp vegetable broth, granulated
• 2 rolls, from the day before
• some lovage
• 100 g bacon, fatty or streaky, diced
• 200 ml milk

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour

modified form of a Saarland dish (filled, gefillte)

For the sauerkraut, fry 100g of bacon in a large pot, add the onions and let them become translucent. Squeeze out the sauerkraut, reserving the juice, then add the sauerkraut to the pot and fry. Add the sauerkraut juice, white wine, juniper berries, cloves, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and sugar and let the cabbage simmer on low heat until the rest of the meal is ready. Add a little more water if necessary; the sauerkraut should just cover. For the dumplings, measure out the water according to the package instructions (I use a little less), pour it into a bowl, stir in the onion, nutmeg, marjoram if desired, and the dumpling powder, and let it swell. Fill a very large pot 2/3 full with water, bring to a boil, and add 2 teaspoons of salt. For the dumpling filling, squeeze out the liquid from the soaked bread roll, mix it with the minced meat, egg, onion, and breadcrumbs, and season with salt and pepper. Form 16 small dumplings (8 for the dumplings, 8 for the milk soup). While the dumpling dough has swelled, form 8 dumplings with wet hands, flatten them on the palm of your hand or countertop, fill each with a meat dumpling, and then use wet hands to tightly seal the potato dumplings (there shouldn’t be any gaps for the meat filling, otherwise they’ll open later). Add the filled potato dumplings and the remaining meat dumplings (for the soup) to the large pot of boiling salted water. The water shouldn’t be bubbling! If it bubbles, all the dumplings will open! Let the dumplings cook in the gently simmering water until they all float to the top. For the milk soup, cut the two bread rolls into smaller cubes. Place these in a pot, add 500 ml of milk, vegetable stock powder, and 500 ml of the dumpling cooking water. Bring to a boil, season with a little lovage, and then add more vegetable stock powder to taste. Add the meat dumplings. For the bacon sauce, finely dice 100 g of bacon, fry it in a pot or small pan, and pour in 200 ml of milk. Serve with the dumplings and sauerkraut. Tip: This dish is especially suitable for cold days because it warms you up quite nicely.