Pilzknöderl mit Krensauce (vegan) (mushroom dumplings with horseradish sauce)
Austrian-style bread dumplings bulked out with finely chopped mushrooms, the bread cubes soaked in warm oat milk until fully softened before mixing, which is what lets the dumplings bind and hold together in simmering water instead of falling apart into crumbs. A sharp, freshly grated horseradish sauce cuts through the dumplings' softness the way only real horseradish can.
Prep25 min
Cook25 min
Rest20 min
Servings4
Christoph's vegan mushroom dumplings, the bread cubes fully softened in warm oat milk so the dumplings hold together.
Ingredients
Written for a 4 L pot
Units
Temperature
Servings
Dumplings
- 300 g stale bread rolls or bread, cut into small cubes rounded
- 250 ml oat milk, warmed rounded
- 250 g mushrooms, finely chopped rounded
- 100 g onion, finely chopped rounded
- 30 ml olive oil rounded
- 15 g fresh parsley rounded
- 60 g flour rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
Horseradish sauce
- 250 ml vegetable broth rounded
- 30 g vegan butter rounded
- 30 g flour rounded
- 100 ml coconut cream rounded
- 40 g fresh horseradish, finely grated rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Pour the warm oat milk over the bread cubes in a large bowl. Let stand for 20 minutes, until the bread is fully softened and no dry pieces remain.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Sauté the onion for 4 minutes, then add the mushrooms and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until they’ve released their water and it has evaporated.
- Mix the mushroom mixture, parsley and flour into the softened bread. Season with salt and mix thoroughly with your hands until it holds together when squeezed.
- Shape into 8 dumplings. Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle simmer, never a rolling boil. Lower the dumplings in and simmer for 15 minutes, until they float and hold together fully.
- For the sauce, melt the vegan butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the broth gradually, then simmer for 5 minutes until thickened.
- Stir in the coconut cream and grated horseradish off the heat. Season with salt. Serve immediately, with the dumplings.
Notes
- Soak the bread until fully softened, with no dry centre. Any dry bread left in the mix creates weak points that break apart in the simmering water; fully softened bread binds into a single mass.
- Never let the water boil hard. A rolling boil knocks the dumplings against each other and against the pot, breaking them apart; a bare simmer is gentle enough to cook them through intact.
- Add the horseradish off the heat, at the end. Its sharp, volatile flavour cooks away quickly; stirring it in after the sauce is off the stove keeps its bite.
- Test one dumpling first before committing the whole batch to the pot, so you can adjust the mixture with more flour if it doesn’t hold together.
Ingredient substitutions
- Any mushroom works here; a mix of button and a stronger variety like porcini gives more depth.
- Fresh horseradish is much sharper than jarred; if using jarred, use roughly double the amount and add it at the very end.
- Plant cream can be swapped for a splash of oat milk if unavailable, though the sauce will be thinner.
From Christoph Mayer