Hafalaab, also written Hafalääb, is exactly what it sounds like once you have seen it made: a soft loaf of cornmeal and flour dough slipped into a pot of soup to poach. Cornmeal arrived in the Alpine Rhine valley centuries ago and the valley took to it with enthusiasm, so the dumplings here are golden rather than white. The broth is flavored with smoked ham or bacon and thickened with barley, and once the loaves are cooked they are sliced and served swimming in it. It was the food of farm families who had more maize than money, and it is now one of the dishes Liechtenstein offers proudly to visitors.

Every cook in the region swears that her proportions are the only true ones, which is the surest sign that a dish is genuinely loved. Ours sits in the middle of the documented versions. It is a slow Sunday soup that asks almost nothing of you while it simmers, which leaves the afternoon free for qualifying.

The smoked ham and barley soup

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb (680 g) smoked ham hock
• 10 cups (2.4 liters) cold water
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 small piece (7 oz, 200 g) celery root
• 1 medium leek
• 1/2 cup (100 g) pearl barley
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or parsley
• to taste salt and black pepper

The cornmeal dumplings

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups (200 g) fine cornmeal
• 1 cup (125 g) all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 2/3 cups (400 ml) whole milk
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) water
• 3 tablespoons (40 g) butter
• 2 large eggs

Poaching and finishing

Ingredients

• All of soup, ham and dumpling loaves

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