Schlutzkrapfen are a staple of South Tyrolean cuisine, especially in the Ahrntal Valley. Prenn° culinary director Bernie Aichner, from the Olm Nature Escape, reimagines this classic dish with gray cheese and apple chip butter. Here, he shares his recipe so you can bring a taste of South Tyrol into your home.
Schlutzkrapfen with spinach, grey cheese, and apple chip butter
Schlutzkrapfen, or “Schlutzer” in the local dialect, are crescent-shaped dumplings made with a mixture of rye and wheat flour. The high rye content of the dough is characteristic of South Tyrol. It gives the dumplings their robust flavor and slightly dark color. Traditionally, you fill them with spinach and curd cheese and often supplement with potatoes, onions, and spicy cheese. In the Ahrntal Valley, however, they usually use gray cheese—a regional sour milk cheese with an intense aroma and long tradition— instead.
Seasonal cooking in South Tyrol in the spring
The best time for fresh spinach is in the spring and fall. Outside of those seasons, you can use frozen spinach, but its carbon footprint is naturally worse than that of fresh spinach from the weekly market.
To cook completely sustainably, use organic spinach grown locally, organic eggs from farms in your area that practice humane husbandry, and flour from the nearest mill (it doesn’t have to be from South Tyrol). 🙂
Special features and refinements of OLM Schlutzkrapfen
In his version of Schlutzkrapfen, Berni Aichner combines tradition with contemporary lightness. Brown butter adds a nutty depth, and apple chips contribute a slightly sweet, fruity note. The Schlutzkrapfen with apple chips are among the guests’ favorites at PRENN°, especially after a day spent outdoors. They simply taste like a vacation in South Tyrol.
Ahrntal Schlutzkrapfen with gray cheese and apple chip butter
Ingredients
For the Schultz dough
- 150 g Rye flour Organic
- 150 g Wheat flour Organic
- 50 ml Water
- a little Oil
- 1 pinch Salt
Filling
- 100 g Spinach cooked and finely chopped
- 1/2 Onion finely chopped and sautéed
- 20 g Butter
- 100 g Cooked mashed potatoes
- 100 g Curd cheese dry (drain water through a sieve)
- 2 tbsp Chives chopped
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese grated
- Salt
- Pepper
- Nutmeg
For melting
- Brown butter
- Chives
- Ahrntal gray cheese
- Apple chips
Instructions
- Knead all the ingredients for the dough into a firm, smooth dough and let it rest for a while.
- For the filling, mix all ingredients well and season to taste.
- Roll out the dough thinly with a pasta machine (or rolling pin) and cut out round pieces of dough.
- Place some filling in the center of the dough sheet and fold into a Schlutzkrapfen.
- Seal the edges of the dough well with your hands (press down).
- Then cook the Schlutzkrapfen in salted water for approx. 3 minutes and serve.
- Melt in a pan with brown butter, Ahrntal gray cheese, and apple chips, and serve with chopped chives.
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