About the Process
Whether you are a pasta pro or a beginner, once you have made these dumplings, you can use the same process to make an endless variety of your own creations. Join me in the fun and let yourself dream up a filling and brainstorm an accompanying sauce in your very own food lab. I'd love to hear about your results.
Ingredients
1 batch of “Ham & Cheese Pâté”
1 batch of “Semolina Pasta”
1 egg, beaten
➡️ Prepare all of your ingredients in advance (Mise en Place).
Instructions
➡️ Please read the entire recipe before proceeding.
1> Make the filling ahead of time, following the instructions for “Ham & Cheese Pâté ” by clicking on the link below. Keep in mind that you don't have to make an entire batch of pâté if you want fewer dumplings than this recipe yields.
Alternatively, you can use whatever filling you like, the process will be the same.
Another option is to use the following Breakfast Sausage recipe to make a filling. Click on the image below for the recipe.
2> Make pasta ahead of time, following the instructions for “Semolina Pasta” by clicking on the link below. As with the pâté, you don't have to make an entire batch of pasta if you want fewer dumplings than this recipe yields.
Click on the link below for detailed instructions on how to use a pasta machine to roll your dough:
.JPG)
Making the Dumplings
Follow the instructions for making semolina pasta and for passing it through the pasta machine.
After 5 or 6 runs through the pasta machine on setting “1”, pass the strip through twice on setting “2” and then twice on setting “3”.
For this recipe, it is better if you do not make the dough too thin. I find the results are good with the thickness set to “3”. However, you can make it thinner if you want. There are no etched-in-stone rules.
Lay the rolled dough onto a countertop lightly dusted with semolina flour.
Using a 3 inch (7.6 cm) cookie cutter, cut circles along the length of the dough.
The size of the cookie cutter isn’t critical. Whatever you have that is close will do. The worse that can happen is you will have to adjust the amount of filling you use for each dumpling.
Remove the cutout dough and egg-wash the outside of each circle.
The dough trimmings can be re-used throughout the process.
Put about a teaspoon of filling in the middle of each circle.
This works out to about 7 grams of filling per dumpling.
You may need to make a couple to get the amount of filling just right. The idea is to have just enough filling to be able to seal the dumpling without the filling oozing out. And, of course, you do not want to have too little filling either and end up with all noodle with barely any filling
You can use a spatula to lift one side of the circle and then fold it over to make a half moon shape.
Picking up the dumpling can be a bit of a delicate operation without the use of a spatula.
Pick up the dumpling and pinch the edges together to seal it into a perfect half-moon.
Lay the completed dumplings on a sheet of wax or parchment paper that is dusted with semolina flour.
Repeat the process until you have made the number of dumplings you want or you have run out of either dough or filling.
Let the dumplings stand for 15-30 minutes before cooking to allow the seal to dry and reduce the chances that they will pop open during the cooking process.
Cooking the Dumplings
Fill a large sauce pot halfway with water.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
You can put the dumplings in a bowl to make it easier to introduce them all to the pot at once, instead of a few at a time.
Boil for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the dumplings reach your desired tenderness. It is best to go with a light boil rather than a vigorous boil. A vigorous boil could make some of the dumplings burst open.
The dumplings should be al dente after 4 minutes of cooking. If you like them more tender, cook them for a minute or two longer. Keep in mind that the dumplings will continue to cook a bit if you sauté them in butter after or if you put them in a sauce.
Drain and serve with either your favorite sauce or tossed in butter with a sprinkle of nutmeg.
