Luxembourg: vegan kniddelen

Our next stop on this vegan world tour is quite close to Hungary. We take a quick skip from Eastern Europe and land in Western Europe to learn a bit about Luxembourg. Here we cook kniddelen, a type of dumpling where a simple dough or batter is boiled in water before being fried. On paper it sounds similar to last post’s langos – Hungarian deep-fried dough, but the flavour is very different. Read on to learn more about kniddelen or jump straight to the recipe.

Luxembourgish cuisine

Luxembourg is a small Western European country nestled in between Germany, France and Belgium. Local ingredients like potatoes, cabbage, beans, wheat, dairy and fish and meat are often featured ​[1]–[3]​. Stews, soups and other filling dishes are often on the menu.

Luxembourg’s cuisine is heavily influenced by its three larger neighbours. You will find German Flammkuchen or tarte flambée (a type of flatbread pizza) alongside French Bouchée à la Reine (an elegant, savory, stuffed puff pastry creation).

Among the more Luxembourgish dishes, you will find Bouneschlupp – a soup with green beans, potato and sausage, Gromperenzopp – a leak and potato soup with sausage, and Judd mat Gaardebounen – salted pork with broad beans stewed in cream and wine. If you visit a fair or a festival you will likely come across Gromperekichelcher – a fried potato pancake made by mixing grated potatoes in a pancake batter and frying it.

Luxembourgish kniddelen

Kniddelen are a type of Luxembourgish wheat dumplings ​[4]​. A simple dish of boiled dough or batter that creates a lovely comfort food. Sometimes the kniddelen are fried after boiling for a bit of extra deliciousness. Luxembourgish kniddelen are very similar to German Spätzle, where thin strands of a similar batter are boiled and served as a classic side dish ​[5]​.

Kniddelen are simple to make. Flour, milk and eggs are mixed into a thick batter, similar to American pancakes. The batter is then dropped into boiling water, one spoon at a time. After boiling, they are served with applesauce or smoked bacon. The bacon is either just fried ​[6]​ or included in a cream based sauce ​[7]–[9]​. Often the kniddelen are eaten just straight after boiling. Alternately, the kniddelen can be fried in a pan, either alone ​[10]​ or along with the toppings ​[11]​. The kniddelen can also be served in soups or as a side to stews ​[4]​.

Vegan kniddelen

To make a vegan version of kniddelen, I simply omitted the eggs, like other vegan recipes online ​[12], [13]​. I don’t know what difference this makes compared to the egg version (with regard to structural integrity). The batter holds together and cooks well. In lieu of the traditional bacon, I went with some fried mushrooms with a pinch of smoked paprika for that smoky flavour. Another option is to serve the vegan kniddelen with lightly fried smoked tofu or just go for traditional applesauce.

Conclusion

These Luxembourgish vegan kniddelen were great. Very easy to make with only 2 ingredients – flour and milk. Fast and easy to whip up from things you always have at home. I chose to fry the kniddelen for some extra flavour but did eat some before frying. They tasted very similar to pasta or gnocchi (no surprises there). Frying the kniddelen in some margarine really boosted the flavour of the dish. The resulting fried kniddelen reminded me very much of savory crepes filled with cream-stewed mushrooms. Not surprising in hindsight but I did not expect it. This recipe is definitely worth trying and I heartily recommend it.

Vegan kniddelen

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Vegan kniddelen

Course Main Course

Cuisine Luxemourgish, Western European

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

Kniddelen

• 140 g wheat flour about 250 mL
• 200 mL plant-based milk, e.g. oat
• ½ tsp salt, for dough
• 2 tsp salt, for boiling

For frying

• 100 g mushrooms diced
• 1 tbsp vegan margarine
• salt, pepper
• ½ tsp smoked paprika optional
• 50 mL plant-based cream See note

Other serving suggestions

• apple sauce
• smoked tofu
• fried mushrooms

Instructions

Prepare the vegan kniddelen

• Mix flour, salt and plant-based milk well. THe dough should be very loose, like a pancake batter.

  Let rest for 15 min.
• Bring a large pot of water with salt to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer.
• Take a tablespoon sized dollop of dough/batter and carefully drop it into the boiling water. Repeat to add a few more pieces.
• Let the dough pieces simmer for 2-4 minutes. They will float to the surface when they are almost ready. Let them float another 30 s.
• When the kniddelen are ready, scoop them out of the water and place in a colander to drain.
• Continue making kniddelen until you're out of batter.

Simple option

• The boiled kniddelen are ready to eat and can served with fried smoked tofu, fried mushrooms or apple sauce. Alternately, you can fry the vegan kniddelen, as described below.

Optional frying with mushrooms

• If you want to take your kniddelen one step further, fry them with mushrooms.
• In a large pan, fry the diced mushrooms until the mushrooms are wilted and start to brown.
• Add margarine, salt, pepper and a dash of smoked paprika if using.
• Stir in the kniddelen. Fry until the kniddelen get some colour.
• Add the plant-based cream, stir and serve immediately.

Notes

Plant-based cream: for plant-based cream there are a few store bought options but they are usually not as common as plant-based milks. Instead, I simply blend some cashews in an equal volume of water.

References