I was so excited when Johanna announced the theme for Waiter there's something in my....dumpling!! I've always loved them but never made them much. So I was contemplating which way to go and on our trip to Prague at the start of the month, I found my inspiration. Just off the Old town square we saw a string with some funny looking rolls around it and as we were in desperate need of a drink and snack after seeing all the beautiful architecture we sat down. They were called Staroceske Trdlo and are made of sweet yeasty dough, rolled around a metal ring and into a mix of ground almonds and sugar. This is then roasted over gas and eaten warm. They were so yummy, and we had quite a few over the weekend to keep the energy up with all the sight seeing.
So I decided to make a dumpling covered in this mixture, but to make it a little bit more special I filled it with half an apricot, a bit of sugar, almonds and ginger (inspired by these tarts that I've made lots). They were a breeze to put together although I was a bit surprised how big they became and we ended up eating way too much but tasted great. I liked the little hint of ginger, the freshness of the apricot and the caramely sugar on the outside. I think I'll be embarking on a dumpling filled summer after this!
Apricot, ginger and almond dumpling (makes 8 fairly big ones)For the dough
400 g flour
50 gr fresh yeast or 1 sachet dried
1 tsp sugar
about 200 ml milk
pinch of salt
For the filling:
4 apricots
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp roughly ground almonds
1 tsp ground ginger
For the outside:
a mix of 2 part sugar, 1 part ground almonds
Put the flour into a bowl, mix the sugar and salt in and crumble the yeast into it. Add the fluid and work till you have a nice soft, springy dough. Cover and leave to rise for about 1 hour (if in a rush, fill the sink with lukewarm water and leave the dough in that for 30 min) then divide into 8 pieces and roll them out into a circle. Cut the apricots in half and mix the sugar, ground almonds and ginger together. Put half an apricot onto each piece of dough and fill the place of the stone with the ginger mixture. Roll into the dough and leave to rest for 5-10 min. In this time, bring a big pan of water to the bowl. Add the dumplings and boil for about 8-10 min, lift out and roll in the sugar-almond mix. Enjoy whilst still warm.
6 comments:
mmh! apricot dumplings bring back good memories of summer! never tried the almond combo, but i can already taste that it's going to be a winner!
thanks for participating!
This is interesting, I've never thought of dumplings with fruits. It usually brings to my mind prawns, meat and chives (as in the Chinese and Japanese types). Thanks for opening up my mind!
Hi, was searching for information on the Czech snack I tried in Prague. Then I came across your blog. Very nice!
Enjoy very much.
Jennifer.
(luk.jennifer@gmail.com)
Great dumplings! I've spent five weeks in Prague and I've never had Staroceske Trdlo before. Silly me!!! Time to pop over to Prague again, I guess :)
I also love the idea of fruit in dumplings! Sounds like a nice surprise rather than your traditional meat. Keep up the original ideas! Great blog!
Prague is a truly charming city. It is full of beautiful squares, beautiful architecture, and beautiful art. I spent one week there. Find good accommodation is not a problem, even in old center, there are a plenty of Prague hotels for any budget. Where ever you looked there’s history and character, which many cities are lacking.
The Charles Bridge, the Old Town Square, the Castle, and Malastrana are the major attractions, but you'll find historic sites and amazing architecture around every corner in this wonderful city. And you´ll find there one of the best beer in the world!!!
Post a Comment