Strangolapreti Trentini con Burro e Salvia

Ingredients

• 300 g stale white bread, at least 3–4 days old, crusts removed
• 250 ml whole milk, warmed
• 400 g fresh spinach, blanched, squeezed to near-dry, finely chopped
• 2 eggs
• 60 g Grana Trentino, finely grated
• 60 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tsp fine salt, for the dough
• For the browned butter
• 120 g unsalted butter
• 8 fresh sage leaves
• To finish
• 1 tsp coarse salt, for the poaching water
• 30 g Grana Trentino, finely grated, to serve

Method

1. 1
   Tear the stale bread into rough pieces and place in a bowl. Pour the warmed milk over and leave to soak for 20 minutes. After soaking, gather the bread in both hands and squeeze firmly and repeatedly until no milk runs free — the mass should feel almost dry to the touch.
2. 2
   Blanch the spinach in boiling salted water for 2 minutes, drain, and refresh in cold water. Squeeze in small handfuls until no further moisture can be extracted, then chop finely on a board until the texture is uniform and dense.
3. 3
   In a large bowl, combine the squeezed bread, chopped spinach, eggs, Grana Trentino, salt, and flour. Work the mixture briefly with your hands until cohesive — this is where the dish lives or dies: stop the moment no dry pockets remain, as further working develops gluten and produces rubbery dumplings. The mixture should hold a cylinder shape when pressed.
4. 4
   Bring a small pan of salted water to the boil and poach one test dumpling: roll a small cylinder of the mixture, roughly 5 cm long and 2.5 cm in diameter, between lightly floured palms. If it falls apart in the water, work a little more flour and a splash of beaten egg into the mixture; if it holds cleanly and floats, the mixture is correct.
5. 5
   Shape the remaining mixture into rough cylinders of the same dimensions. Lay them on a semolina-dusted tray. Bring a wide pan of generously salted water to a steady, gentle boil — not a rolling boil that would batter the dumplings apart.
6. 6
   Lower the strangolapreti into the water in batches. They are ready only when they have floated to the surface and remained there for a further 1–2 minutes — floating alone is insufficient. Remove with a slotted spoon and hold warm.
7. 7
   Melt the butter in a wide sauté pan over a medium heat. Continue cooking, swirling regularly, until the milk solids turn golden and the butter emits a clean hazelnut scent — this is beurre noisette. Add the sage leaves and allow them to crisp for 30 seconds. The butter must not darken further to brown.
8. 8
   Transfer the drained strangolapreti to warm plates, spoon the browned butter and crisped sage over each portion, and finish with a grating of Grana Trentino.