National Dish Serbia: Semolina Noodles (Recipe)
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This simple everyday dish comes from the Danube Swabian kitchen of the Bačka region. Semolina noodles are wide homemade noodles mixed with semolina that has first been toasted golden brown in lard. The result is crumbly, nutty and filling. It is served with plum compote, or simply with cinnamon sugar sprinkled over the top.
About Semolina Noodles
Semolina noodles, known in dialect as Griesnudl, come from the cooking of the Danube Swabians in the Bačka, a region that today lies partly in Serbia’s Vojvodina. The base is homemade ribbon noodles made from flour, egg and water, about 1 cm wide. The soft wheat semolina is toasted slowly in lard or butter until it smells nutty, then left to swell with a little hot water. This produces loose, golden crumbs that cling to the noodles. There are two ways to eat the dish. Seasoned with salt, it comes with a bowl of compote on the side; served sweet, it gets a sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon. Because the dish needs no meat, it suits Fridays and fasting days well, and all the ingredients keep well in the store cupboard.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 150 g plain wheat flour (Type 405) for the noodles
- 1 egg (medium)
- 1–2 tbsp water
- 1 pinch of salt for the dough
- 80 g soft wheat semolina
- 40 g lard or butter
- 150 ml hot water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Salt for the cooking water
- 2 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon (for the sweet version)
- 200 g plum compote or apple compote to serve
Shopping for the ingredients
Ordinary plain wheat flour (Type 405) is fine for the noodles; with Type 550 the dough turns out a little firmer. With the semolina, the type matters. Use soft wheat semolina, the kind sold for semolina pudding. Durum wheat semolina stays too hard when toasted and does not swell as well. You can get lard from the butcher or the chiller cabinet, and it gives the semolina its traditional flavour. If you have no time for homemade noodles, buy wide egg ribbon noodles or Fleckerl. Plum compote is sold in jars, but it tastes better homemade from ripe damson-type plums with very little sugar.
Preparing the dish
Knead the noodle dough at least 30 minutes before cooking, as it needs to rest so that it can be rolled out thinly. Have a large pan of salted water ready. The hot water for the semolina should be ready before you start toasting, because things move quickly from then on. Weigh out the semolina and lard and get a wide, heavy-based frying pan ready; in thin pans the semolina burns easily. For four people, double all the quantities and toast the semolina in two batches.
Step-by-step instructions
- Knead the flour, egg, salt and 1–2 tbsp water into a firm, smooth dough, wrap in cling film and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 1 mm thick, leave to dry for 10 minutes, then cut into strips 1 cm wide and 5–6 cm long.
- Melt the lard in a wide frying pan over a medium heat, add the semolina and toast for 8–10 minutes, stirring constantly, until golden brown.
- Take the pan off the heat briefly and carefully pour in 150 ml hot water with 1/2 tsp salt; it will spit vigorously.
- Let the semolina swell over a low heat for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until it is loose and crumbly, then cover and keep warm.
- Cook the noodles in plenty of boiling salted water for 3–4 minutes, until they float to the top and are al dente, then drain and let them drip dry well.
- Add the hot noodles to the pan with the semolina and mix everything well so that the crumbs cling to the noodles.
- Serve savoury with a bowl of compote, or for the sweet version sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Making it gluten-free is tricky, because semolina is made from wheat. A workable substitute is corn semolina (polenta) or millet semolina; both can be toasted and swelled in exactly the same way. Knead the noodles from a gluten-free flour blend for pasta, or buy gluten-free ribbon noodles. Made with lard, the dish is already lactose-free. If you prefer butter, choose lactose-free butter or clarified butter, which contains hardly any lactose.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
Vegetarians can replace the lard with butter or clarified butter, which gives the semolina a rounder, slightly sweeter flavour. For the vegan version, toast the semolina in 40 g plant-based margarine or 3 tbsp rapeseed oil. Then knead the noodles without egg from 150 g durum wheat flour (semola di grano duro) and about 75 ml lukewarm water with 1 tbsp oil. Alternatively, buy egg-free ribbon noodles. The compote is vegan anyway.
More tips and tricks
The most common mistake is too much heat when toasting. The semolina then turns dark on the outside and tastes bitter, while staying raw inside. Stir constantly and take the pan off the heat briefly if in doubt. If you pour in too much water, the semolina turns mushy instead of crumbly, so add it in small amounts. Leftovers keep for two days in the fridge. They can be fried until crisp again in a pan with a little fat, and to be honest, they taste almost better that way than fresh.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
If you like it heartier, fry 50 g diced bacon with the semolina. Some families added a few pork crackling bits or onions browned in butter. When eaten sweet, icing sugar with vanilla works as well as cinnamon sugar. A spoonful of plum butter instead of compote makes the dish juicier. For children, you can leave out the cinnamon and use sugar alone.
Ingredient substitutions
Instead of homemade noodles, shop-bought wide ribbon noodles or Fleckerl work well; the cooking time then increases to about 8–10 minutes. Lard and butter are interchangeable. There are many alternatives to plum compote, such as apple compote, sour cherry compote or a Serbian-style Šljivov Kompot. You can replace the cinnamon sugar with grated walnuts and sugar.
Drink pairing ideas
The best drink with semolina noodles and compote is the compote juice itself, cold from the jar. Diluted apple juice or a redcurrant spritzer also goes well. With the sweet version with cinnamon sugar, a cup of milky coffee or a warm fruit tea with rosehip is lovely.
Serving and presentation ideas
Arrange the semolina noodles loosely in deep plates, with the golden crumbs visible on top. Serve the compote in its own glass bowl alongside, so everyone can help themselves. For the sweet version, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over at the table so that it does not melt.
A bit of history
The Danube Swabians settled mainly in the 18th century under Habsburg rule in the Bačka, the Banat and other areas along the middle Danube. Their cooking combined the habits of their home regions in south-west Germany with Hungarian and Serbian influences. The Bačka is a fertile grain-growing plain, so flour and semolina were easy to come by. Related dishes include the Austrian Grießschmarrn and Hungarian noodle dishes such as Káposztás tészta. From the autumn of 1944, many Danube Swabians fled Yugoslavia; those who stayed behind were dispossessed and most were taken to camps. They took their family recipes with them to their new homes in Germany, Austria and overseas. There is no documented account of how semolina noodles came about.
More recipe ideas
Looking for more ideas? Discover more Serbian recipes.
Summary: Semolina Noodles
Homemade noodles, toasted semolina and a small bowl of compote make a simple lunch from just a few ingredients. The key is patient toasting over a medium heat and only a little water for swelling. Whether sweet with cinnamon or salted with compote, you can decide at the table.
