Around the world in 80 Chulents: Dumplings
I promised this to you last week, but alas time ran away from me.
This summer G and I had the pleasure of going to Prague where I was conducting a wedding. Despite the pouring rain the wedding was beautiful. Wandering around the city though I had one regret; every restaurant seemed to be serving stew and dumplings - except the kosher ones!
I am a big fan of stodgey food, and dumplings just fit perfectly! I have even been known to eat kneidlach (matza balls) raw, before they even make it into the soup.
So when we got home, I knew that shabbat we were having dumplings in our chulent, and I've been making them ever since (though the frozen 'kishkes' you can buy in kosher shops are pretty good too!)
As with all these things, you need to find the right consistency for you, but once you have a basic recipe, you can add herbs/spices to your taste. I particularly love adding fresh rosemary, thyme and sage from the garden, but it depends on the flavours of your chulent as to what you want! I find it's best made the night before kept in the fridge until the chulent is ready to be set for shabbat as this firms it up nicely before cooking.
Basic dumpling mix:
This summer G and I had the pleasure of going to Prague where I was conducting a wedding. Despite the pouring rain the wedding was beautiful. Wandering around the city though I had one regret; every restaurant seemed to be serving stew and dumplings - except the kosher ones!
I am a big fan of stodgey food, and dumplings just fit perfectly! I have even been known to eat kneidlach (matza balls) raw, before they even make it into the soup.
So when we got home, I knew that shabbat we were having dumplings in our chulent, and I've been making them ever since (though the frozen 'kishkes' you can buy in kosher shops are pretty good too!)
As with all these things, you need to find the right consistency for you, but once you have a basic recipe, you can add herbs/spices to your taste. I particularly love adding fresh rosemary, thyme and sage from the garden, but it depends on the flavours of your chulent as to what you want! I find it's best made the night before kept in the fridge until the chulent is ready to be set for shabbat as this firms it up nicely before cooking.
Basic dumpling mix:
- 225g plain flour
- 3 tablespoons margarine/ oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons water
- Mix the above together into a firm dough. If slightly sticky don't worry!
- Add herbs/spices of choice
- Roll the dough into small balls OR - because this will be slow cooked over a long period in the juices of the chulent, I like to make one large dumpling, inside muslin cloth or a string cooking bag which holds it together. If cooked like this it can be sliced up and served along side the chulent.
- Place dumpling/s on top of chulent (alongside eggs if you are having chulent eggs) and cook until lunch!
- Enjoy!
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