Capunsei

Grate the stale bread by hand so that it has a rather coarse texture. Arrange it in a mound on a pastry board and scald it lightly with four or five ladles of boiling broth. Mix and let cool.

Add the eggs to the mixture, about 200 grams of grated cheese, a pinch of nutmeg, pepper, and finely chopped garlic; adjust the salt and work everything vigorously to obtain a consistent dough.

Form cylinders about three centimeters in diameter, divide them into pieces about two centimeters long, and work each one with the palm of your hands to transform it into a thinner cylinder with tapered ends, the

capunsel

. Let rest for half an hour.

Cook the

capunsei

in broth or salted boiling water and drain them as soon as they rise to the surface. Dress with melted butter and fried sage, then finish with grated Grana Padano.

These bread dumplings typical of the upper Mantua area are a well-known recovery dish, an expression of the simple cuisine of the past. They can be enriched with chopped lard and parsley and are also excellent in broth or dressed with bacon or meat sauce.