Cornmeal Herb Dumplings Food

CORNMEAL DUMPLING DOUGH

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Using your fingers, work in butter until small crumbs form. Stir in buttermilk.

CORNMEAL DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl place the cornmeal, flour, grated carrot and salt. Mix these ingredients until blended together. Make a well in the cornmeal mixture and add water, knead until the dough is firm to the touch. Cover the bowl with a cloth or tea towel and set aside. Place a large pot on the stove over medium heat. Add the butter and let melt. Once butter has melted add the thyme, pimento peppers, grated carrot, vegetable stock, tomato paste, coconut milk, Angostura bitters and evaporated milk. Bring to a boil.
• Once boiling reduce heat to medium, place the dumplings into the pot cover. Cook for 15 minutes. The dumplings will rise to the surface when they are done. To Plate: Pour this delicious concoction into bowls and serve.

CORNMEAL-HERB DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Combine dry ingredients in one bowl and herbs, butter and eggs in another. Stir the wet into the dry until just combined into a very thick batter. If it is doughlike, add more buttermilk.
• Drop batter a teaspoonful at a time into boiling water. Simmer until cooked through (cut open one to test it), about 15-20 minutes. This will take longer if your dumplings are large. Turn off heat and let dumplings rest in cooking liquid until ready to use, up to an hour or until they start to fall apart.

COLLARD GREENS AND CORNMEAL DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Make the stock: In a large heavy stockpot, bring 3 quarts water, the smoked meat, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, and simmer, partially covered, until the flavors are well blended, about 2 hours.
• Remove the meat from the broth. When cool enough to handle, pull the meat off the bones (discard the skin, fat, and bones). Chop the meat and reserve for another use. (The meat can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.) Use a fine-mesh sieve to strain the stock into a container. Refrigerate the stock until the fat floats to the top or skim the fat using a fat separator or spoon to use immediately. For chilled stock, use a slotted spoon to skim off the fat and discard. Pour out 6 cups stock to use; reserve the rest for another use in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
• Make the collards: In a medium saucepan, bring the 6 cups stock, the onion and garlic to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, cover and simmer while preparing the greens.
• Thoroughly wash the collards and trim away the stems, if desired. Discard the stems or coarsely chop. Stack 2 or 3 leaves on a cutting board and roll tightly into a log. Slice the greens crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide ribbons. Place the greens and stems, if using, and the chiles in the broth and return to a simmer. Cook, covered, about 1 1/2 hours for very tender greens; you may cook them for less time if you have young greens or prefer greens with more chew. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
• About half an hour before the collards are done, prepare the dumplings: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Spoon out 1/2 cup of the potlikker from the collards and add to the butter. Remove from the heat and stir it into the dry ingredients, adding more potlikker 1 tablespoon at a time if needed for the dough to come together into a mass. Let stand 5 minutes. When cool enough to handle, use wet fingertips to shape the dough into 6 round dumplings.
• During the last 15 minutes of the collards' cooking time, carefully drop the cornmeal dumplings into the pot with the greens, making sure the dumplings are submerged in the potlikker. Cover the pot and simmer until the dumplings are cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve the greens and dumplings in bowls with plenty of potlikker.

BAKED CORNMEAL DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Combine milk and oil; stir into dry ingredients. Bring broth to a boil; carefully transfer to a 2-1/2-qt. round baking dish. Drop batter in six mounds onto broth. , Cover and bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a dumpling comes out clean (do not lift the cover while baking). Garnish with parsley if desired.

SIMMERED GREENS WITH CORNMEAL DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Score bacon 2 or 3 times (do not cut all the way through), then simmer in water in a wide 6-quart pot, covered, 1 hour.
• Discard any coarse stems from greens and coarsely chop leaves.
• Add greens, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to bacon and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk together flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, then blend in butter well with your fingertips. Stir in milk until just combined. Let dough stand 5 minutes.
• With wet hands, roll rounded tablespoons of dough into balls.
• Gently place dumplings on top of greens. Cook, covered and undisturbed, over low heat until greens are very tender and silky and dumplings are puffed and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Discard bacon. Season with salt and pepper.

CORN DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine cornmeal, salt and water; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until very thick. Reduce heat; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in corn, butter, onion and pepper; let stand for 3 minutes. Add egg; mix well. In a bowl, combine 3/4 cup flour and baking powder. Add to cornmeal mixture; beat well. Shape into 1-1/2-in. balls; roll in remaining flour to lightly coat. In a Dutch oven or kettle, bring broth to a boil. Add dumplings. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a dumpling comes out clean (do not lift the cover while simmering).

AZAFRáN SOUP WITH SPINACH GREENS AND YELLOW CORNMEAL DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Make the dumplings:
• Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and sugar together in a bowl. Add the butter and milk and mix well to make a batter that is moist but not sticky. If the dough is too moist, knead in a little more flour. Divide the dough into 1-inch balls, flatten, and shape into small triangles, spheres, or another shape.
• Pour the chicken stock or water into a small pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to a simmer and drop in the dumplings (you may need to do this in batches). Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until tender and cooked all the way through. Remove the dumplings from the stock and set aside.
• Make the soup:
• Heat 2 cups of the water and the azafrán in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until the liquid has reduced by half, about 7 minutes. Pour through a fine sieve, discard the azafrán, and return the liquid to the saucepan. Add the salt, pepper, stock (if using), and the remaining water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the squash, decrease the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the corn kernels and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add the dumplings and spinach, cook for 2 minutes, and serve immediately.
• Variation:
• This dish can be made vegetarian by omitting the chicken stock and just using water.
• Cooks' Note
• Azafrán, also called Native American saffron, is an herb that is actually the fine threads from the stigma of the safflower plant. Despite the name, azafrán is not the same as saffron, which is usually more expensive and derived from the crocus plant in the iris family. (Saffron can be substituted for azafrán, though: use one pinch of saffron for 2 tablespoons of azafrán. Stored in a dark, cool place, azafrán will last several months in a sealed plastic or glass container.

CORNMEAL DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Prepare dumplings while turnip greens are cooking.
• Slowly stir cornmeal and salt into boiling water.
• Cook and stir for 2 minutes, remove from heat and let cool.
• Sift together the flour and baking powder.
• Dissolve baking soda into sour milk.
• Alternately add flour and milk to cornmeal.
• Then add the egg and beat the mixture for 1 minute.
• Drop by spoonfuls on top of turnip greens. Cover and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes.
• To serve remove dumplings with slotted spoon to a deep serving platter. Drain the greens and arrange on serving platter. Pour the pot likker over the dumplings. Enjoy.