Wednesday Food Blogging: Bean and Tomato Stew with Herb Dumplings

You'll want a big spoon, to slide into these soft, floury pillows.

I've had a hankering for dumplings lately. Fluffy, white, floating in a good stew...what can be better?

A fast and easy dumpling recipe. This one uses mostly pantry staples, and I had it on the table in 30 minutes. The leftovers the next day were even better.

I used borlotti beans because I had them, but any similar sized beans would work—cannelini, kidney, pinto. You can also play around with the tomato products—I used my favourite Waitrose crushed tomatoes in a jar, but you can use a couple of cans of stewed tomatoes if that's what's in your pantry.

The best part was slicing a spoon into the soft, flour pillows, soaked with rich tomato stew...heaven.

Bean and Tomato Stew with Herb Dumplings

1 tablespoon canola or olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 can borlotti beans
1 can garbanzo beans (or two cans of either bean)
4 cups vegetable stock
few drops Tabasco
2 cups crushed tomatoes
1 can chopped tomatoes
fresh coriander, or chives, chopped, for garnish

Dumplings:
1 cup self-rising flour
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs, or 1 teaspoon dried
1/4 cup soy milk

In a dutch oven or large sauce pan, saute onion in oil over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and spices and saute another one minute Add beans and garbanzo beans, vegetable stock, Tabasco, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the dumplings:

Combine margarine and flour in a mixing bowl. Rub the margarine through the flour until the mixture resembles course meal. Alternatively, place flour and margarine in a food processor and blend until combined.

Add the herbs and soy milk, and mix until just combined. Form into a large ball, then divide into 8 equal portions. Roll each portion into a dumpling-shaped ball.

Add the dumplings to the tomato-bean mixture. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the dumplings comes out clean.

Serve with coriander or chopped chives for garnish.

Notes on ingredients: Borlotti beans are also called cranberry beans. A near substitute would be red kidney beans or pinto beans. Coriander is, of course, known as cilantro in the United States.

Comments

[B.D.]

Looks delish! I'm going to have to try it some time soon. By the way, when asking for submissions for your cookbook, were you looking for vegetarian recipes in particular? If so, I misunderstood when I submitted the tuna casserole. I eat vegetarian meals 99% of the time, so I could have easily offered up one of those recipes. :(

[KathyF]

Nope, the cookbook is omnivore. It was Ginger's brainchild, I was in for the ride.

[Auntiepam]

I never saw a dumpling that look like that..

I think thats a matza ball not a dumpling

My moma made thin and i like thin

[KathyR]

That looks really, really good. I have printed the recipe out!

[KathyF]

Hope it makes you feel better, KathyR.

[Faux Real]

Okay, I made this last night and it tasted fantastic. But the dumplings stayed flat and then broke down in the stew, whereas yours look all nice and fluffy. Would I have done something wrong? Maybe the kind of flour I used? butter?

[KathyF]

Did you use self-rising flour? That may have been it, or too much oil (butter) can make them flat.

[Faux Real]

Maybe too much butter. Still taste fantastic though.