Stodgy Stew Dumplings - England

Just like your mother (or granny) used to make!

My mother used to make a very homely lamb stew when I was little and the only think I liked about this stew was the dumplings! (sorry Mum!)

I didn't have time to make stew, and we are trying to focus on the dumplings themselves, so with that in mind I set about recapturing everything I loved about Mum's English style stew dumplings.

Usually found floating in a pot of English or Irish stew, these fluffy balls of dough were originally made with flour and lard in a two-to-one ratio with water to bind. The butter lover I am, I opted for a dumpling recipe that is slightly more decadent. Akin to a scone mixture I rub in butter and bind with milk. Then I add some cheese - very naughty! and very unEnglish!

A pot of gravy bubbling away, I plonk the dumplings in one by one and cover with more cheese to melt. In the oven they bake for 20min and out they pop half boiled, half baked.

Not the most nutritious meal ever, but certainly a tasty one! Reminiscent of the best American biscuits and gravy, these buttery clouds of batter are a Western dumpling delight! Add a little sour cream and some spring onion to top and you'd be in dumpling-poutine heaven!

Enjoy your meal! x

Tortellini - Italy

Traditionally stuffed with pork, tortellini is a popular Italian dish that is shaped into a ring and served in a broth or sauce. While some may not equate tortellini with dumplings, this delectable Italian stuffed pasta, falls clearly into the dumpling family. *

Like many of our dumplings, I have never dabbled in tortellini before, and so that challenge of pasta making is new and exciting! I set about making a vegetarian version of the dish stuffed full with ricotta, spinach and a touch of lemon zest. Mmmmmmmm!

The filling itself is easy enough to whip up, but the pasta proves to be another trauma entirely, however, I refuse to be defeated! After resting the dough for half an hour, I separate two portions and begin to make friends with my brand new pasta press; 'Barry'. To my dismay though, Barry is not man enough to handle this much dough, so I start afresh with four portions.

Finally, after much frustration, Barry and I manage to co-operate and we make beautiful pasta together. I later discover that we may have hit it off a lot more quickly if I'd paid more attention to Barry to begin with and not given quite so much loving to the dough. This is a good life lesson well learned!

Having seen Garry and George from Master Chef fame stuff their tortellini full with tablespoons of prawn filling the week before, I greedily plunge heaping mounds of ricotta into my pasta circles. A bit over zealous with the filling I find my first tortellini will have to live life as a ravioli as it is too plump to get on board with the ring design (yet another female life lesson learned). Still not satisfied with minimal stuffing, my next few turn out looking more like tortelloni, a technically a heavier version of tortellini, weighing in at 5g each.

By the time I fold my last tortellini I have drunk two more glasses of wine than necessary, but have acquired a new skill in the process: patience...and, more importantly, tortellini making!

My favourite dish of the evening, they were worth every bit of the effort and I'm sure become easier with practice. I haven't included a recipe as they are easy enough to find. My advice: make these for someone special when in an exceptionally good mood, and don't spend too much time delliancing with the dough, or you'll get tough love in return!

Boun Appetito! x

*Please refer to our definition of a dumpling.

Papas Rellenas - Peru

Papas Rellenas are stuffed potato dumplings from Peru. (Thanks Wiki, I already knew this!)

I am not advocating the use of Wikipedia as an isolated reference source, but I do find it a useful starting point...usually. On the topics of international dumpling culture, however, it appears that Wikipedia has some catching up to do! So I will endeavor to fill the gaps where Wiki falls short.

Forced to expand my powers of research beyond the first page of Google, I find that we have the African slave population of Peru to thank for this delightful dish. After being freed to the area of Chincha in the mid 1800's, the traditional cooking of this population became renown for its unique flavours and has since largely influenced Peru's culinary identity.

In my kitchen, however, we have Beata to thank for this culinary offering, who has scoured supermarket shelves across the nation trying to find the illusive 'minced aji pepper'. 'You can't get it in Australia!' She exclaims as she enters the kitchen. Upon closer interrogation I find that, by Australia, she actually means Toorak Safeway, and am less than surprised it has not graced these shelves. If anyone knows a minced aji supplier - kindly hook us up!

Pepper dilemma aside, the fry-up begins and an assortment of onions, beef mince, olives and raisins delve into the pan! Potatoes are being mashed and slowly but surely a mound of pots and pans amass to the side of the sink. Everything is coming together beautifully and I am overjoyed that the little morsels of meat remain safely inside their mashed potato casing...that is until the frying begins...

Now I'm not sure if it was the type of potato, the method of frying or if we just needed to add more egg to bind the damn things?! Either way, the pappas rellenas needed to pull themselves together so that we didn't fall apart!

Finally the Peruvian dumplings made their way onto out plates, mostly in one piece...and the one dumpling that refused to conform, Beata forced to by hand rolling it back into shape. I have to say I was a little sceptical about the olive and raisin combination, but the filling turned out beautifully! The potato on the other hand, is still a work in progress. I thought deep frying might be the go, but my sources tell me this is even more disastrous than pan frying. One smart online cookie suggests that powdered potato is the way forward. Aside from that fact that I refuse to venture anywhere near fake potato, this recommendation comes from the same man who banishes the traditional olives and raisins from his dish that give these dumplings their unique character and distinguish them from the humble cottage pie.

While it's back to the drawing board for the mash, I did highly enjoy the salty-sweet filling and recommend giving these troublesome suckers a go! And if you do happen to stumble upon the secret to frying mash in the process, please enlighten us, we'll be forever in your debt.

The Recipe
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup chopped olives
- 1kg yellow potatoes
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced aji pepper, or jalapeno
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 500g minced beef
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1 egg
- Flour for dusting
- Salt and pepper to taste

Boil and mash potatoes. While potatoes cook, fry onions, garlic and pepper in oil until soft then add paprika and cumin and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add and brown the beef, then add raisins, olives and stock and simmer until most of the liquid is gone. Chill mashed potato overnight (this is probably where we went wrong!), add egg and season. Place a small handful of potato in one hand and make a well in centre. Fill the well with meat mixture then press potato around it to form a ball. Coat in flour then fry in at least 2inches of oil (this may also be where we fell short).

Buen provecho! x

Gnudi - Italy

Gnudi, not yet a topic on Wikipedia in its own right, is the lesser known cousin of gnocchi and literally translates as 'naked' gnocchi.

Pronounced 'nu-dee' this traditional Tuscan dumpling dates back to the early 1300's and should not be confused with the food brand 'Nudie'. In response to my housemate's question: NO, I am not making juice for dinner!

Ricotta drained and ready to go, I sceptically set about making my first ever batch of dumplings! Having had many bad gnocchi experiences, I prepare for a kitchen nightmare and textural taste bud disaster only to find that in a matter of minutes I have whipped up a perfect batch of hand-pinched naked dumplings. Pert little balls of cheese, flour and egg, they bounce gaily around the boiling pot and become engorged to nearly double in size. Tossed in basil oil and a sprinkle of salt the gnudi are fresh, fluffy and moist.

A tasty morsel indeed, I recommend that everyone keep a tub of fresh ricotta in the fridge at all times. Free from the mess and hassle of mashed potato in gnocchi, gnudi are truly the easiest dish to whip up at a moment's notice and are liable to turn gnocchi hatters into gnudi lovers!

The Recipe
- 450g fresh ricotta (drained in cloth for half hour)
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup Parmesan or Pecorrino cheese finely grated
- 1/2 tsp salt
- pinch white pepper
- 3/4 cup flour

Beat together egg, cheese, salt and pepper in large bowl. Mix in ricotta, followed by flour. Roll dough into balls and coat with additional flour then place on baking tray lined with plastic wrap, cover and chill for at least half an hour. Once chilled, place gnudi in salted boiling water for 8 minutes, until fluffy and floating on top. To serve coat with olive oil, a pinch of salt and Parmesan or your favourite Italian pasta sauce.

Buon Appetito! x

The Definition of a Dumpling

After delving deep into the depths of dumpling definitions from dictionaries, diaries, dinner tables and beyond, I have come to the conclusion that dumplings can best be described as follows:

A dumpling is: a piece of dough cooked to perfection that is either delicious in its own right or has had the deliciousness stuffed into it. Either way, they're delicious!

Traditionally boiled or steamed, dumplings can also be pan or deep fried and may be eaten as a savoury course or sweet desert.

The Inspiration

Melbourne has gone a bit dumpling mad! Pot stickers, won tons, xiao long bao, we love them all and we can't get enough! The poor little man at Shanghai Dumpling Palace (if anyone knows his name, please let me know) has had to employ a second seating manager and sometimes only offers an 'all you can eat' menu because they don't have time to process large fried pork orders. At the other end of the market, Hu Tong has had to open a second venue to keep the people in the eastern block slurping xiao long bao safely south of the Yarra.

It seems we’ve got Asian dumplings down! But what does the rest of the world have to offer? We set out cook as many different dumplings from around the world as possible.

If you have a favourite dumplings or a recipe for a dumpling that you would like to see us make please do share it with us! We love a challenge! And we love delicious balls of meat, veg and cheese wrapped in carbohydatey goodness! (NB this blog is not for people on diets!)