{"id":1195,"date":"2017-05-19T09:00:52","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T15:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/?post_type=recipe&p=1195"},"modified":"2026-09-02T10:59:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T17:59:20","slug":"homemade-dumplings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/2017\/05\/19\/homemade-dumplings\/","title":{"rendered":"Homemade Dumplings"},"content":{"rendered":"

May 19, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n

It is unfathomable to me that someone could voluntarily go on a low carbohydrate diet.<\/p>\n

Avoiding gluten, short of having full-blown celiac disease, is equally unthinkable.<\/p>\n

All of my most favorite foods start with flour.<\/p>\n

Some contain flour and potatoes.<\/p>\n

Roughly in order these are Potato Gnocchi, my Slovak Grandmother\u2019s Potato Cakes\u00a0and a three-way tie between Pasta (of almost any sort),\u00a0Dumplings, and my Aunt Mary\u2019s Bread Rolls Stuffed with Mashed Potatoes and rubbed with garlic and oil.<\/p>\n

Of those five foods, the only one I get on a regular basis is pasta.\u00a0 I have pasta 3 or 4 (or 5 or 6) times per week.\u00a0 I could probably have it every day and never tire of it.\u00a0 A few days without pasta and I begin to have serious cravings.<\/p>\n

Until just recently, I had a frenetic travel schedule for work.\u00a0 One of the first things I would\u00a0do upon landing in a city that I was likely to return to over and over for work was to find a really good restaurant, preferably an Italian restaurant or one with a goodly number of Italian dishes on the menu.\u00a0 Failing that, I would\u00a0look for a restaurant with an ingredient-driven menu that was not into precious or pretentious presentation!<\/p>\n

Sometimes finding that restaurant was elusive and my pasta cravings would be in full swing by the time I got home.<\/p>\n

Over the years, my mother-in-law has learned that the best thing she could make for dinner on a day when I\u2019m returning from a trip is pasta.\u00a0 Even if I\u2019m not having pasta withdrawal symptoms, there are few foods that I would rather have.\u00a0 Actually, there\u2019s only one:\u00a0 gnocchi, which truth be told, is just the Italian word for dumpling, which as you\u2019ve noticed is on my list in its English form, too!<\/p>\n

Sometimes the restaurants I’d find were so spot-on perfect that I would just work my way down the menu over successive trips.\u00a0 In this category are the recently closed Dish Osteria in Pittsburgh, Bari Ristorante in Memphis, Antico in Chicago, and, until the recent change in the menu, Tre Soldi in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Sometimes I’d find a chef whose cooking I really enjoyed, as happened with Bruce Bogartz in Knoxville a number of years ago.\u00a0 My business partner and I followed Bruce through at least three different restaurants.\u00a0 Sometimes we\u2019d just walk in and sit down and Bruce would come over and say: \u201cCan I just cook for you this evening?\u201d\u00a0 That would be the sum-total of ordering.<\/p>\n

Sometimes my business partner and I would find a restaurant that would accommodate our cravings as happened in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.\u00a0 We\u2019d usually get to the restaurant late on the day we came into town.\u00a0 After a few trips, we got bold and asked for something that wasn\u2019t on the menu.\u00a0 Something simple.\u00a0 Something Italian.\u00a0 As I recall it was spaghetti with anchovies, garlic, olive oil and red pepper.\u00a0 The chef accommodated us. \u00a0From then on, at least once during every trip to Harrisburg we asked for the same thing, sometimes we\u2019d mix it up by asking for a bit of fennel seed to be added.\u00a0 A salad of arugula with olive oil and lemon juice always rounded out the meal.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s easy to find pasta on restaurant menus, it\u2019s pretty difficult to find dumplings unless you\u2019re in a dumpling culture like Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n

After two trips to Prague, I discovered that it was basically impossible to just order dumplings.\u00a0 I frequently found myself ordering some sort of \u201cHunter\u2019s Plate\u201d which had an array of cooked meats and, you guessed it, dumplings.<\/p>\n

I ate the dumplings first.<\/p>\n

Dumplings are a breeze to make.\u00a0 And don\u2019t even think about packaged baking mix.\u00a0 (For the reasons why, see my post about hydrogenated fats<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Unless you are seriously trying to avoid carbohydrates or gluten, give these a try.\u00a0 They honestly take less than 10 minutes to whip up.\u00a0 You could get a serious paper cut opening up a box of Bisq\u2026er, biscuit mix, in less time!

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Homemade Dumplings<\/h2>\n
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In order for the dumplings to cook properly, they need to be placed on top of food that is just submerged in the cooking liquid. A little bit of the dumpling will sink below the liquid but, basically, the dumplings should sit on top of the food and steam, rather than boil in the liquid itself. Growing up, the \u201cfood\u201d below the dumplings was often kielbasa and sauerkraut. For this post it was turkey with mushrooms and peas in a light cream sauce due to the presence of leftover roast turkey in the fridge. Stir the contents of the pot before adding the dumplings as you won\u2019t be able to do it afterwards. Prior to adding the dumplings, be certain that the heat keeps the liquid at a steady low boil with the lid tightly on the pot.<\/div>\n
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Prep Time <\/span>15 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Cook Time <\/span>20 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Total Time <\/span>35 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
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Servings: <\/span>4<\/span> people<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ingredients
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