Transitioning to a more plant-based way of eating can be difficult if you don’t know what to do or where to look. Fortunately, most grocery stores offer a variety of vegan alternatives to classic animal-based products, nowadays. We do have to issue some cautionary advice and say that many of these plant-based vegan alternatives can contain a great deal of processed ingredients. Fresh is always best, so we encourage you to cook with more natural foods. Indulging in these foods every so often, though, is acceptable.
Any dumpling recipe worth its salt has, well, salt. Don’t be shy with the seasonings when you make this recipe is essentially what we are saying. The filling punches with bold flavors, but the sauce is where it’s at. A good sauce can make or break a dish, and it makes it in the case of this recipe. You’ll want to drink it all up! Because these dumplings have a rich sauce, it’s nice to pair this dish with a light salad with mixed greens and vegetables.
- Prep Time:20m
- Cook Time:30m
- Total Time:50m
- Serves: 4 servings
- Category: Entrees, Vegan, Vegetarian
Ingredients
For the Dumplings
- 4 tbsp. plain flour
- 1 tbsp. brown rice flour
- 1 tbsp. ground almonds
- 1 handful flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp. vegan pesto
- sea salt, to taste
- 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (a little more if required)
- 1 c plant-based meat alternative (like Beyond Meat)
- 1 c grated vegan cheese
- 1 tsp. fast acting yeast
For the Mushroom & Veggie Sauce
- extra virgin olive oil
- 2 chopped carrots
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 c mixed porcini mushrooms (you can use the frozen ones)
- 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
- 8 cherry tomatoes (optional)
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1 c vegan cream of your choice
- 1 c low-sodium vegetable stock
- sea salt, to taste
- 1 tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
Instructions
For the Dumplings
- Place the parsley and nuts in a food processor, and process until broken down into very small crumb-sized bits. Next, add the other dry ingredients, and process for a few seconds. Now add the vegan cheese, the vegan mince and the pesto, and process for a few more seconds on a slow speed. Add the olive oil, and keep on doing so until the mixture forms into a ball in your machine. At this point you are ready to start shaping your dough into dumplings.
- Take the dough out, let it rest for 15 minutes, then roll it into around 8 balls on a floured surface. Dust with more flour, then fry them for a few minutes until a little golden. Then remove from frying pan, and set aside in readiness for the sauce.
For the Mushroom And Veggie Sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a non-stick saucepan, and add the onion and carrots. Fry until they get a little color, then add the garlic and stir everything around on a low heat at this point. Next, add the mushrooms and allow them to cook for 10 minutes or so. Then add the red peppers and cherry tomatoes, and leave to simmer gently for a further 10 minutes, adding a little stock just so as to prevent sticking. Then add a little more stock after a few minutes, making sure that your carrots have begun to soften. If they haven’t, give it some more time, and add a little more water to soften them, leaving the mixture to simmer gently.
- Once your carrot is soft, add the dumplings and stir gently. Now cover, and allow to cook for a couple more minutes, and then stir in the vegan cream. Add the salt and a little pepper if you wish, cover and allow to cook for a further 10 minutes. If the mixture is too thick, use a little more water, but bear in mind that it should have thickened slightly.
- Serve with any green of your choice – together with hot sweetcorn if you wish, and crunchy garlic bread or very ‘naughty but nice’ roasted, crunchy potatoes.
