Small, irregular dumplings of the Walser community of Gressoney, in Valle d'Aosta's upper Lys valley, and a close cousin of Tyrolean spätzle. A soft batter of flour, egg, milk and salt is pushed through a large-holed grater or a spätzle press straight into boiling water, then drained and dressed with a fonduta of local Toma di Gressoney, with cream and speck, or more rustically with butter-braised onion. High-altitude thrift that turns a handful of flour and an egg into a warming plate.
The dumplings of the Walser, the Alemannic-German community that crossed from the Swiss Valais over the Monte Rosa massif and settled the upper Lys valley around Gressoney between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, keeping their own German dialect and their own kitchen high above the Franco-Provençal valley floor. Chnéffléne belong to the same family as the spätzle of Tyrol and the Valais: a loose egg batter scraped or pressed into boiling water rather than a rolled dough. In the homes of Gressoney-Saint-Jean the buttons are dressed with a fonduta of Toma di Gressoney, a cheese still made up in the valley's summer pastures, or eaten in a pork broth alongside firmer maize-and-wheat gnocchetti. It remains an emblem of Walser thrift, a way of making a satisfying dish from little more than flour and an egg.
Loose, irregular little dumplings, tender with a slight spring, each catching sauce in its ragged folds. Under a fonduta they are mild and milky with the gentle tang of mountain Toma; dressed with butter-braised onion they turn sweet and savoury, with the toasted note of browned butter. Comforting, soft and plain in the best sense.
The batter is far wetter than pasta dough, so it cannot be rolled; scraping or pressing it into boiling water lets each thread set the instant it meets the heat. Egg proteins coagulate between about 62 and 70°C and the flour's gluten firms while surface starch gelatinises, so the soft buttons hold their shape; as they cook through and trapped air and steam lower their density, they rise to the surface, the cook's signal that they are done. In the fonduta, gentle heat loosens the Toma's casein network and releases its fat, which the residual whey and a little butter carry into a smooth emulsion; kept below a simmer, the cheese stays glossy rather than seizing into stringy curds. Where onion is used instead, slow cooking in butter drives off water and browns the onion's sugars for sweetness and Maillard aromas.
Variations
The classic dressing is a fonduta of Toma di Gressoney, but Gressoney cooks also finish the dumplings with cream and speck, or simply with butter-braised onion, and serve them in a pork broth. They are often eaten together with chnolle, firmer little gnocchetti of maize-and-wheat flour cooked in the same broth. The dish is a Valdostan cousin of Tyrolean and Valais spätzle, differing mainly in its mountain-cheese dressings.
On the Palate
Where Chnéffléne sits in the Italian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
7 steps · 15 min
- 120 min
Whisk flour, eggs, milk and salt into a soft, lump-free batter and let it rest 20 minutes so the flour hydrates.
Watch outRest the batter 20 minutes so the flour fully hydrates — skip it and the dumplings can turn gummy; it should be soft and pourable, not stiff.
- 210 min
Bring a wide pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil.
- 35 min
Dice the Toma di Gressoney and set it aside for the sauce.
- 48 min
Hold a large-holed grater or a spätzle press over the pot and push the batter through so short threads drop into the boiling water, working in batches.
- 53 min
Cook until the dumplings float and are set through, about 2 to 3 minutes, then lift out with a slotted spoon and drain well.
Watch outThe dumplings are cooked the instant they float and set through, 2–3 minutes — that's your signal; boil them on and they go soft and lose their shape.
- 68 min
In a wide pan melt a little butter with a splash of milk over low heat, add the diced Toma and stir until it melts to a smooth fonduta without boiling.
Watch outMelt the Toma over low heat to a smooth fonduta and never let it boil — too hot and the cheese seizes and turns grainy and oily instead of silky.
- 72 min
Fold the drained dumplings through the fonduta, season with salt and serve at once, very hot.
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