Dumplings?

Caterina

I use vegetable oil for dumplings, SR flour and a pinch of salt. Sometimes I add dried herbs. Just very little water, I make them quite solid and roll them into golf ball size lumps then squash them a bit, spread them over my stews (veg or pulses) making sure there is plenty of liquid to absorbe. Cook them in the stew with the lid on and once they are doubled in size I sprinkle a bit of cheese on top and put the casserole under the grill.

My DD has always loved this recipe and now that she is an adult living away from home (and still vegetarian) she cooks it for her friends, it never fails to delight!

Attempt2save

Thanks to this thread, I now fancy beef stew and dumplings :rotfl:

OOPOS491

Bang goes my diet - sigh:eek:

Living_proof

I cheat.

B & M sell a boxed mix which would be ok for 3 or 4 people and it's just 39p. A doddle for the odd time I cook dumplings, it's normally just for the 2 of us and I weigh out half and add half the liquid etc. Caraway an absolute must though!

judyjetson

I use Delia's recipe for dumplings, which is a slightly more flour to suet ratio (going on the metric measures than her imperial, which I found a bit odd) - it's 110g sr flour to 50g flour. After much experimentation, this has given the best results. Enough water to make them soft but not quite sticky. Like Valli, I give them a light kneading before dividing into balls.

The version with butter sounds like a short crust pastry recipe, so I'm surprised it disintegrated (although I think it might give different results in a slow cooker).

I also add suet dumplings to broth as well - gives a slightly different texture, more chewy, but just as delicious.

Sometimes I add chives or parmesan for extra flavour.

No need to roll either, if you're doing suet crust, just flatten it out by hand and call it "rustic" or "artisan".

Feral_Moon

Half fat to flour ratio. And bind with water or a beaten egg. Can't be simpler!

But would never cook them in a slow cooker as temps are not high enough. Need at least 20 mins @ gas 4-5-6

Feral_Moon

Valli wrote: »

I have to disagree - I add dumplings to stews in the slow cooker - it takes longer BUT they cook beautifully.

I use suet and mix in the food processor BUT I always give the dough a light kneading before portioning and rolling into balls.

I make the full quantity in the recipe (from Dairy Book of Home Cookery) and freeze half of the dumplings (see sig ) although I find the previously-frozen ones don't 'puff up' as well as the dumplings cooked from fresh.

They cook equally well straight out of the freezer or thawed; I always thaw them if they are to be added to the SC.

Why on earth would you make up dumplings to freeze? They take literally seconds to make with flour, suet & water. No kneading necessary, just stir the ingredients and make soft balls.

Yeah, make up stew and freeze it as it takes a few hours to cook. But dumplings? :huh:

Feral_Moon

sexylainey wrote: »

Hi. I do mine slightly differently to most people, but the end results are amazing. Always use half suet (beef or veg), to flour. Instead of SR flour, I use plain flour and a heaped teaspoon of baking powder. Add a good pinch of salt. Add cold water a spoonful at a time. Stop when the mixture can hold itself together without crumbling, and before it gets sticky. Make sure your stew is bubbling, add golf ball sized bits of the dumpling mixture, and either cook in the oven for 20 minutes for crunchy dumplings, or 20 mins on the stove for chewy dumplings x

Not sure how/why you think that method "differs from most" as that's the standard way to cook dumplings!