Category Archives: Dumplings

Matzo Ball Soup

March 20, 2020 allansuddaby Leave a comment

I did not grow up eating matzo ball soup; it was completely unknown to me and my family. In fact it was so foreign that the first several times I heard mention of it I assumed it was “mozza ball soup”, which I guess would be some kind of Italian-American soup containing mozzarella cheese. This is emphatically not the case.

Matzo balls are a kind of dumpling. Matzo ball soup is usually a chicken soup with matzo balls in it.

It turns out this classic Jewish preparation is much more familiar to me than I ever would have suspected. While the most common term in North America is matzo ball, the true Yiddish word for the dumpling … Continue reading.

Dumplings, Starch

Pot Dumplings

October 1, 2019 allansuddaby Leave a comment

One time I was at my parents’ house on Boxing Day, and I used their Christmas leftovers to make a turkey pot pie. I shredded the turkey leg meat, combined it with mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, and gravy, then baked the mixture in a pie crust.

When we sat down for supper my dad said that his mom used to make “pot pie”, but that it wasn’t a pie.

“A pot pie that wasn’t a pie? What was it then?”

He thought for quite a while before saying, “It was chicken with dumplings.” He couldn’t tell me much more, except that the dumplings were roundish.

At this point I was pretty sure he was confused.

I more or less forgot … Continue reading.

Austrian, Doughs and Batters, Dumplings, Starch

Spätzle

March 1, 2018 allansuddaby 1 Comment

Spätzle are little dumplings. They are sometimes described as egg noodles, though they are quite different than the broad, flat, twisted dried pasta sold as egg noodles.

In former times spätzle were shaped by cutting small pieces of dough with a knife or spoon and rolling them into a pot of boiling water. This process gives the noodles a long, tapered, vaguely avian appearance, which is the alleged origin of their name, which literally means “little sparrows”.

Originally a specialty of Swabia in the far south-east of Germany, spätzle is now common throughout southern Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Shorter, more rounded versions are sometimes called knöpfli, which means little buttons.

These days most spätzle is made using a special board … Continue reading.

Dumplings, Pork

Gyoza

July 1, 2017 allansuddaby Leave a comment

Pork and cabbage for the win! A combination that transcends continents. Gyoza are Japanese “pot-sticker” dumplings, usually filled with ground pork and cabbage, though shrimp is also common.

I love this preparation because it is primarily made of local ingredients I often have on hand (pork and cabbage) but of course with the Japanese pantry items that take it in a completely different direction.

This is a very simple recipe. The only nuance is that you should grind the pork in the manner described in this sausage-making introduction. In other words, the pork should be about 25-35% fat by volume (pork butt is ideal), and should be properly chilled before grinding, and should be thoroughly mixed with liquid (soy … Continue reading.

Dumplings, Potatoes, Starch, Vegetables

Perogies

April 24, 2017 allansuddaby 3 Comments

This post was originally published on January 6 (Orthodox Christmas Eve!), 2013. Re-published today for those that took my session at Eat Alberta 2017. The only difference between what we did at Eat Alberta and the recipe below is that we used Sylvan Star medium gouda instead of orange Cheddar.

There are as many recipes for perogies^[1] as there are babas in the world. Some pillowy perogies have potato in the dough, as well as the filling.^[2] Others are made with a simple dough of flour, sour cream, butter, and eggs. This is what I prefer…

This afternoon I made perogies, then ate four dozen of them, giving me ample opportunity to contemplate their mysteries.

The Dough. … Continue reading.

Charcuterie, Dumplings

Butcher’s Cake

March 12, 2017 allansuddaby 1 Comment

I’ll mention right off the hop that this concept is from the brain of Emmanuel (Manu) Thériault. He might have made this when he was at Woodwork, but I’m not sure. He calls it “Butcher’s Cake”. He told me about it and I think it’s one of the most brilliant food ideas I’ve heard in a very long time.

Part of the reason I am so enamored with butcher’s cake is because I work in a sandwich shop. When you work in a sandwich shop, you have at least three significant sources of possible waste. The first is bread. Bread is a problem ingredient because it has such short shelf life. It can be difficult to maintain fresh inventory, and … Continue reading.

Dumplings, Starch

Cornbread Stuffing and Cornbread Pudding

February 21, 2014 allansuddaby 3 Comments

In the extremely unlikely case that you have leftover cornbread that is a couple days old and a bit too dry to be enjoyed, you have two choices.

Look deep into the tepid pond of your soul and ask, sweet or savoury?

If the response comes back sweet, you make cornbread pudding. If the answer is savoury, you make cornbread stuffing.

Leftover cornbread and the dishes made therefrom are quite different than stale bread and its children. As cornbread is a quick bread, the baker went out of his or her way to avoid gluten development, and no doubt added sugar and fat in the form of butter or buttermilk or sour cream. This kept the fresh cornbread tender, but … Continue reading.

Doughs and Batters, Dumplings, Seasonal, Special Topics, Starch

Stuffing, or Dressing

November 2, 2013 allansuddaby 2 Comments

I say this without exaggeration: I hold stuffing as one of the greatest culinary traditions of the New World. I know the British and French and many others make similar dishes, but stuffing, or dressing, is an indispensable dish for the Thanksgiving table. Technically it is an accompaniment to the turkey. I often have to remind myself of this.

So. What is stuffing? Stuffing is bread. As the name implies, it was originally crammed into the cavity of poultry, absorbing the juice and fat exuded from the bird during cooking. While this method is still common in Canadian homes, it is giving way to “stuffing” that is prepared in a casserole instead of a bird. There are two reasons for … Continue reading.

Austrian, Beef, Doughs and Batters, Dumplings, Meat, Offal, Stock and Soup

Beef Liver Dumplings

September 26, 2012 allansuddaby Leave a comment

For me, the most shocking part of buying a side of beef was how much liver we got.

A lot. I like liver more than most, and I thought it was too much.

If you have to get through a lot of liver, there’s no better way than to just sear it in a pan and tuck in. When the distinct, glandular texture of liver wearies the palate, there are liver dumplings.

This was a staple when I was in Austria. Lunch always consisted of soup, meat, and dessert, and the soup often contained some manner of offal. Most notable were the soft, bready liver dumplings the size of a toddler’s fist, floating in beef broth.

The biggest problem with … Continue reading.

Austrian, Bread, Dumplings, Starch

Serviettenknödel – Austrian Bread Dumplings

January 10, 2012 allansuddaby 5 Comments

This post is actually about two kinds of Austrian dumplings that are made from old bread.

The first is best made with bread that is a few days old, bread that is dry, but not brittle. If you let your bread sit for more than a week, so that it’s completely hard throughout, you can make the second dumpling.

The first dumpling, made with days-old bread, is the Serviettenknödel, which literally translates as “serviette dumpling.” Much like the French word torchon, which means towel, Servietten implies that the dumplings are shaped into cylinders by rolling in a towel or serviette.

The old bread is first cubed and soaked in milk, butter, and egg (full recipe below).

Then the … Continue reading.

Button Soup