Dumpling have always put a smile on my face, I simply love them. I just love how versatile they are, I mean you can literally fill them with anything. Naturally i had to find a delicious vegan recipe for awesome dumplings. I already knew and loved the mushroom dumpling, but i was looking for something a little different, something a bit special. This dumpling recipe is not traditional at all but even the most carnivorous tester was convinced by their delicious flavour.
I love playing around in the kitchen and combining different cuisines to create something magical. With this recipe i stayed true to my Chinese heritage while still creating something fun and unique.
You can make this recipe a bit more easy by using store bought dumpling wrappers, but you can also easily make these at home. The downside of buying store bought wrappers is that most of them have preservatives and other unnecessary ingredients in them, and i also really love making food from scratch.
Luckily its the filling thats important, i mean i’m not the most skilled dumpling wrapper in the world, but they are delicious! I always try to make my recipes quick and easy, and i’m sure that even the least experienced cook can make these in a heartbeat.
I cant wait to hear how you liked this dish! Now go make yourself some dumplings to share with your friends and family (or eat them all by yourself like i did).
One Love
spinach and chickpea dumplings
Ingredients
Dumpling wrapper
- 1 cups water warm
- 3 cups flour
Filling
- 1 can chickpeas drained, washed and chopped
- 3.5 oz shitake (aproximately 100 grams) chopped
- 1 1/2 cup spinach tightly packed
- 1 medium/large onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 spring onion
- 1 tbsp cilantro tightly packed
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- salt + pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup peanuts* (optional)*
- 1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil* (optional*
Instructions
wrappers
- For wrapper: slowly add water to the dough while stirring until you need to get in with your hands. kneed dough until very soft this can take some time about 15 min*.
- After letting the dough rest for 20 minutes you can roll it out and with a cookie cutter or wide mouthed glass cut out circles (you can also make squares). Put cornstarch on the wrappers so they wont stuck together.
Filling
- Chop the onion, spring onion and mince the garlic. Now to a food processor add the chickpeas, cilantro and peanuts, process these for a few seconds until minced.
- In a non stick pan add a bit of oil (i used coconut oil) and sauté the onions and garlic with some salt and pepper until soft and translucent. Now add the mushrooms, chickpea mixture and cumin cook this on low/medium for about 5 min. Add spinach, spring onions and sesame oil to a bowl and add the cooked mixture on top. Now cover the bowl with a plate or lid and let the spinach wilt with the steam and heat from the chickpea mixture.
- Now its time to fill the dumplings! First add a bit of the filling to the middle of the wrapper and pinch it closed (if you used a lot of cornstarch to protect from sticking to each other u might want to spread a thin later of water on the edged so they stick together)
- You can let them sit a bit and throw them in the freezer for up to 2 months, or you can cook them immediately.
Steaming
- lay some parchment paper in the bottom of a steamer (or put spinach like i did*) and steam the dumplings over a pot of water for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Frying
- add some oil to a pan and fry the dumplings on each side until every side is golden brown and crisp. When the dumplings are frozen just let them thaw a bit.
Boiling
- Bring a pot of water or soup to a boil and throw in the dumplings, stir ofter to prevent the dumplings from sticking to the bottom. The dumplings are done when they are a bit translucent and start floating to the top
Leave a Reply