So, season three of Downton Abbey is over. Withdrawals for about ten million American's is now common. It will be around ten more months before season four makes its way across the pond from England. What is a Downton Abbey fan to do? Quite obviously, eat the food of the era and watch reruns!
There used to be a belief that dumplings were only a good fall and winter dish. This belief comes from the fact most dumplings are rather like soft boulders and "rib-sticking" food. When a dumpling is prepared properly, however, they should be rather light with "chewy" texture. This version of a dumpling is very European and meant to be served with a rich broth or homemade bullion.
The secret to any dumpling is the cooking time and the cooking time depends on the ingredients of the dumpling. If they are under-cooked they will taste like globs of dough. Over-cooked, and they will either fall apart or when dropped on the floor they will bounce right back up to you. In the case of this dish, they are actually steamed right into the broth, which is both easy and pretty fool-proof.
We'll be giving the recipe for the dumplings only. You can use them in a any type of broth, albeit chicken was the usual broth during the Edwardian era. For a complete how-to slideshow on making these, go to the free Facebook page called The Food of Downton Abbey.
Ingredients needed to make Savory Dumplings:
- 1 cup flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbs. butter (chilled or soft)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 scallion (green onion), minced
Steps:
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and butter. Using a pastry blender or pastry fork (or fingertips), cut the butter into the flour until it is somewhat crumbly.
- Into the flour mixture, stir in the milk, garlic and scallion to form a dough.
- Place the dough onto a floured surface and knead a few minutes. Form the dough into a ball and let it rest 5 minutes.
- Pinch off tablespoon portions of the dough and roll them into balls.
- Place the dumpling into a pot of simmering chicken stock. Place a lid on the pot and simmer the dumplings 20 minutes.
- Spoon the dumplings into serving bowls, cover with the broth and serve.
The new cookbook from Chef Larry Edwards is now available from Amazon.com and bookstores worldwide. One of the most anticipated cookbooks of the year, "Edwardian Cooking: Inspired by Downton Abbey's Elegant Meals."
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