Oven-baked pretzel and feta dumplings with leek vegetables

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 2 pretzel sticks or pretzels
• 100 ml milk
• 2 sprigs of parsley
• salt and pepper
• 100 g feta cheese or shepherd’s cheese
• 1 stalk(s) leek
• 200 ml cream
• salt and pepper
• Paprika powder
• Nutmeg, freshly grated
• 2 slices of smoked pork
• some butter for frying

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 50 minutes

Dice the pretzel sticks. Heat the milk in a saucepan or in the microwave and add to the pretzel cubes. Season with salt and pepper, cover, and let stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, trim and finely chop the leek. Finely dice the feta cheese. Wash and chop the parsley. Add the feta cheese and parsley to the pretzel mixture and, with wet hands, form 3-4 firm dumplings. Place in a buttered casserole dish. Bake in an oven preheated to 200°C (top/bottom heat) for about 20 minutes on the middle rack. Cover with aluminum foil for the first 10 minutes if necessary. Meanwhile, sauté the leek in a little butter in a pan until it collapses. Pour in the cream and simmer over medium heat until the dumplings are tender. Once the vegetables are tender, season to taste with salt, pepper, a little paprika, and nutmeg. If you like, you can crumble any leftover feta cheese onto the dumplings towards the end of the cooking time and briefly broil them. Briefly fry two slices of diced smoked pork in a pan with a little butter and serve as a topping. Tip: This dish is also delicious as a vegetarian option and will fill you up nicely.