Kärntner Kasnudeln

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gplain flour
• 2eggs
• about 200 ml warm water
• 1 tablespoonoil
• 1 teaspoonsalt

Filling

• 500 gdry curd cheese
• bröseltopfen or quark
• 400 gfloury potatoes
• 1onion, finely chopped
• 40 gbutter
• a large handful of fresh mint
• a handful of chervil, optional
• 1egg
• salt and black pepper

To finish

• 100 gbutter
• a little of the cooking water

To serve

• a green salad
• or a clear broth

Directions

1. Drain any wet curd cheese thoroughly first. Put the flour and salt on a work surface. Make a well in the middle of it. Beat the eggs and pour them in. Add the oil to the well as well. Add warm water gradually as you work.
2. Bring it together into a firm dough. Knead it for a good ten minutes. It should become smooth and elastic. Wrap the dough and let it rest. Give it at least thirty minutes. Boil the potatoes in their skins. Cook them until completely tender.
3. Drain them and let them steam dry. Peel them while they are still warm. Mash them thoroughly with no lumps. Let them cool down before mixing anything in. Melt the butter in a small pan. Add the finely chopped onion to the pan. Cook it slowly for about eight minutes. It should be soft and lightly golden.
4. Let it cool before it goes in. Mix the mashed potato with the curd cheese. Add the cooled onion with its butter. Chop the mint leaves very finely indeed.
5. Add it with the chervil if using. Beat the egg and add it to the mixture. Season it well with salt and pepper. It should hold together firmly. Add more mashed potato if it is loose. Taste it and season generously. It should taste strong on its own.
6. Divide the dough into four or five pieces. Roll each out on a floured surface. Take it down to about two millimetres. Cut rounds about ten centimetres across. Use a pastry cutter or the rim of a glass.
7. Keep the offcuts covered as you work. Put a spoonful of filling on each round. Set it slightly off the centre of the round. Do not overfill any of them at all. Brush the edge lightly with water. Fold the round over into a half moon. Press out all the trapped air.
8. Press from the filling outwards to expel it. Press the edges firmly together. Start at one corner of the curved edge. Pinch a small piece of the rim between finger and thumb. Fold that piece over onto itself.
9. Press it down against the next piece. Keep the pinches small and even. Work all the way round the curve. The result should look like a fine rope. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Do not crowd the pot at any point. Lift them with a slotted spoon. Never pour them into a colander. Set them out on a warm serving plate.
10. Keep a ladle of the cooking water. Melt the butter in a wide pan. Let it foam and then turn nut brown. Add a spoonful of the cooking water. That stops it browning further. Set the nudeln on warm plates. Pour the browned butter over them. Serve a green salad alongside. They keep for a day refrigerated. Boil them from frozen with two minutes more.

Technique

• The Krendeln is the crimped rope edge, made by pinching small pieces of the rim and folding each over the next, and it is genuinely judged in Carinthia, with competitions held for it and older cooks known for their edges.
• Mint goes into the filling by the handful rather than as a garnish, often with chervil alongside, and that green herb note in a savoury cheese filling is the whole character of the dish.
• The curd cheese must be dry, since wet cheese makes a filling that bursts the pasta; the potato bulks it, binds it and absorbs moisture from the curd, and floury potatoes mash drier than waxy ones.

Substitutions

• Well drained quark or dry ricotta stand in for bröseltopfen.
• A fork crimp seals them perfectly well, though it is not a Krendeln.

Variations

• Some cooks add chervil alongside the mint and others use mint alone.
• A meat-filled version is made in some households.
• They are served with browned butter or floated in a clear broth.

History

A Carinthian speciality whose crimped edge, the Krendeln, is judged as a mark of the cook’s skill.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kärntner Kasnudeln?

Kärntner Kasnudeln is a main from Austria: large pasta pockets of curd cheese, potato and mint, crimped by hand. A Carinthian speciality whose crimped edge, the Krendeln, is judged as a mark of the cook’s skill.

How long does Kärntner Kasnudeln take to make?

Kärntner Kasnudeln takes 1 hour 30 minutes plus resting of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 20 large nudeln. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Kärntner Kasnudeln?

Yes, within limits. Well drained quark or dry ricotta stand in for bröseltopfen. A fork crimp seals them perfectly well, though it is not a Krendeln.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kärntner Kasnudeln?

Keep the offcuts covered as you work. Put a spoonful of filling on each round. Set it slightly off the centre of the round. Do not overfill any of them at all. Brush the edge lightly with water. Fold the round over into a half moon. Press out all the trapped air.