Seitan-Klopse nach Königsberger Art (seitan dumplings in caper cream sauce)
Units
Temperature
Servings
Ingredients
Dumplings
- 250 g minced seitan or vegan mince rounded
- 100 g stale bread rolls, torn, soaked in 100 ml milk rounded
- 1 egg rounded
- 60 g onion, finely chopped rounded
- 8 g fine salt rounded
- to taste freshly ground white pepper rounded
- 900 ml vegetable broth rounded
- 1 bay leaf rounded
Caper sauce
- 30 g butter rounded
- 30 g flour rounded
- 100 ml cream rounded
- 40 g capers, drained, roughly chopped rounded
- 10 ml lemon juice rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
Method
Method
- Combine the minced seitan, soaked bread, egg, onion, salt and pepper in a bowl, mixing to an even mass. Shape into 12 balls with wet hands.
- Bring the vegetable broth and bay leaf to a bare simmer in a wide pot. Lower the dumplings in gently and poach 15 minutes, uncovered, until they float and feel firm when pressed. Lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside, reserving the poaching broth.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute, stirring. Gradually whisk in 500 ml of the reserved poaching broth until smooth. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring, until thickened.
- Stir in the cream, capers and lemon juice. Season with salt.
- Return the dumplings to the sauce and warm through gently for 3 minutes. Serve with boiled potatoes.
Notes
- Poach the dumplings, do not fry them. Königsberger Klopse are traditionally pale, not browned; poaching in broth is what gives them their characteristic colour and tender texture, and also flavours the broth for the sauce.
- Use the poaching broth to build the sauce. It carries flavour from the dumplings themselves, which a fresh batch of plain broth would not.
- Add the lemon juice and capers off the heat or at a low simmer, not a hard boil, to keep the sauce’s brightness rather than cooking it flat.
- It keeps for 3 days in the fridge and reheats gently well.
Ingredient substitutions
- Minced seitan or vegan mince can be a mix of finely crumbled tempeh and extra soaked bread for a different but workable texture.
- Capers are essential to the character of this sauce; there is no good substitute if you want it to taste authentic.
- A pinch of sugar in the sauce is a traditional, subtle addition that rounds out the acidity from the capers and lemon.