continuing on with my list of foods that i plan to stock in our freezer for my maternity leave, i have to share this soup with you that is the best kept secret of the upper midwest. knoephla soup is right up with tater tot hotdish as my favorite new food that i’ve learned about since moving here. knoephla (neh-fla) are little chewy dumplings that made their way to this area with german immigrants and are most commonly enjoyed in creamy potato soup, but can also be sautéed with sauerkraut and sausage or put into hotdish. they are kind of like plumper smoother spaetzle and the frozen store-bought ones look a lot like mochi bits. knoephla soup is traditionally made without meat, just potatoes, vegetables, a bit of cream, and my favorite (from dakota harvest, r.i.p.) had the most warming hit of nutmeg. the texture of the dumplings and the pure comfort of it all makes this the kind of soup that i just shovel into my mouth with abandon. we had it at our wedding and for years now i’ve wondered why it hasn’t seemed to pick up that much popularity outside of the upper midwest.
