The problem with adapting a recipe to make it gluten-free the first time you ever make it is that if it’s not amazing, you don’t know if it was your fault or the recipe’s. I tried two versions of this dish – one with millet flour and one with chickpea flour instead of regular flour. I usually like chickpea flour because it’s nutty and works well in savoury dishes, but in this case I wasn’t so sure. What I am not sure of is that using ground flax seeds with the millet flour version of this dish was and is a very bad idea. Millet flour is already a little bitter on its own, and my flax seeds may have been past their best before date. (Note: they don’t actually have a best before date, but they can go rancid.) So if you’re vegan and don’t want to use an egg in this recipe, use egg replacer (a combo of tapioca starch, cornstarch, guar gum, baking soda, or other gumming and lifting agents) instead of a flax egg.
This broth is interesting because of the dried prunes, which are supposed to add an umami depth to its flavour. I’m not convinced. Between the prunes and the celeriac the broth was awfully sweet, and then when the chickpea flour dumplings fell apart it became a kind of gruel. A tasty gruel, mind you, but a gruel none the less, and there was no sour or salty or spicy (or anything but “bitter” and “sweet”) flavour to balance. So, the original recipe using regular flour may have been okay (not my personal favourite, but maybe someone else’s), but with millet it was awful, and with chickpea it took some getting used to, plus a desire for gruel. I did honestly get that desire for gruel by day 3, and started eating the leftovers for a filling, comforting breakfast. That desire does not make me want to make this fussy recipe again, though…Once was enough, and I do LOVE parsnips. Here you go:
Parsnip Dumplings in Broth (adapted from “Plenty” by Yotam Ottolenghi)
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil (the less bitter, the better)
3 carrots, peeled and sticks (for stock)
5 celery stalks in chunks
1 onion, quartered
1/2 celeriac, peeled and roughly chopped into cubes
7 garlic cloves (mmm…), peeled
5 sprigs thyme (or 1 tbsp dried)
1 large bunch of parsley (leave some extra to garnish)
about 10 black peppercorns
3 bay leaves
8 prunes
Dumplings:
1/2 lb russet potato (about 1 small potato), peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups peeled and diced parsnips
1 clove garlic, diced
2 tbsp butter or oil
1/2 cup chickpea or regular flour, sieved
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup semolina or coarse cornmeal (or more chickpea flour if you can’t do wheat or corn)
1 egg (or egg replacer equivalent to 1 egg)
salt and white (or black) pepper. Use white for aesthetics and a slightly more mild flavour. And if you used oil instead of butter add an extra pinch of salt.
Make a broth by heating the olive oil and sautéing the first 5 ingredients, down to the garlic in it. A few minutes later add everything else down to the prunes and then add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer for up to 1 1/2 hours. Skim the scum on the surface as necessary, and add more water to keep the vegetables covered. You want about 4 servings of broth once you strain off the vegetables, but I can’t eyeball that either so don’t feel bad. It’s easy to add more water later.
Strain the broth into a clean pot and add some of the boiled vegetables if you want. They’re pretty mushy, and I just reserve them for reheated breakfasts with gluten-free bread and chia seeds, but you can do as you wish. Don’t throw them out, though. They’re good fibre, and a good snack while you’re waiting for your dumpling soup to finish. Set aside the pot of broth to reheat later. Cover it to save some of the heat.
Now boil the potatoes, parsnips and garlic in salted water for about 8 minutes, or until soft. Drain and wipe the pot dry. Place the potatoes et all back in the pot and add the butter or oil. Cook over medium to get rid of the excess water in the vegetables. A few minutes later take the pot off the heat, transfer the potatoes and company to a bowl, and mash. Then add the flour, semolina, egg, salt and pepper (try about 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper since the starch will mask a lot of it). Cover with plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes at least.
Now reheat broth and adjust seasoning (more salt is about all you can do here, sadly. More water if it’s too salty). Have a mug of very hot water next to the pot. Dip a spoon in the water and then spoon the dumpling mix into the simmering broth one scoop at a time. When each dumpling comes to the surface give it about 30 seconds and then lift it with a slotted spoon into individual serving bowls. You’ll have to do a lot of batches of dumplings and try really hard to remember which ones have been floating for how long. A little extra is fine. You just want to make sure you cook the egg. Really, that will be fine too. Egg doesn’t need a long time in boiling water, and some people think it doesn’t need any at all. Just use good eggs and don’t let them sit around forever.
When all the dumplings are done ladle the hot broth over them in the bowls. You can also ladle them through a sieve if the chickpea flour made the broth cloudy and thick like porridge and you want to clear it out a bit. Garnish with parsley.
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