Alpine dumplings

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 150 g leaf spinach
• 2 onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 7 tbsp butter
• 200 g white bread from the day before yesterday
• 100 g Parmesan cheese
• 400 g ricotta
• 4 m.-sized eggs
• 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
• 30 g cornstarch
• Salt and pepper, black, from the mill
• some flour

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 10 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 10 minutes

as a vegetarian main course with brown butter or as a side dish

Trim and wash the spinach leaves, and spin them dry thoroughly. Peel the onions and garlic cloves, then dice or chop both very finely. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan and sauté the diced onions and garlic for about 2 minutes. Then remove from the pan and let cool. Coarsely grate the white bread and finely grate the Parmesan cheese. In a large bowl, mix the ricotta with the eggs. Add the onion and garlic mixture, the coarsely grated white bread, the breadcrumbs, the grated Parmesan cheese, and the cornstarch; mix everything well. Stir in the spinach and season with a little salt and a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper. Cover and let the mixture rest for about 30 minutes. Then, using floured hands, form the mixture into 8 dumplings. Bring a large, wide pot of salted water to a boil, add the dumplings, and let them simmer over low heat for about 8 minutes, until they rise to the top. Brown 5 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan. Carefully remove the dumplings from the salted water with a slotted spoon, drain well, divide between plates, and serve with the browned butter. Serve with a fresh salad.