1. My mother made perfect dumplings - light, fluffy, uniform, perfect. She used to tell me that the first dumplings she had ever made where so hard that if she had thrown them towards the window, they would have broken not only the window, but also the heads of the passers-by. Unfortunately, my mother did not get to teach me how to make dumplings, but she did teach me something: HOW good dumplings should be.
2. I was living in Germany when a group of friends came from Heidelberg to see our first new-born daughter. I was making chicken soup and as I was preparing to add the noodles, Sorin (student and in the same time cook at a Portuguese restaurant) asked me why wasn't I making dumplings. I answered that they don't always come out right, he offered to prepare them and while doing that he told us the next anecdote: A woman was a very good cook, but her husband rarely praised her cooking. One day the woman prepares semolina dumplings and by mistake they turn out to be hard. Her husband comes home, sits at the table, starts eating and says: "You've finally learned how to cook! Now these are dumplings like at my mother's!" We all laughed (those of us in the kitchen), Sorin made the perfect dumplings - big, fluffy, homogeneous - the way they should be and we started eating. While eating the soup, I told Sorin that his dumplings were perfect, but Radu, another common friend said something like: "Hmmm... They're not that good. My mother's were harder..." Of course he hadn't heard the story and we all laughed at Radu and his hard dumplings.
This second story was to show that people have different tastes, depending on the way they were thaught or used to things. I have to say, even though I've said it already, that for me the dumplings should be uniform, but soft, fluffy, light and they should melt in your mouth. That's just me.
Eventually I have learned to make dumplings from Magda, my husband's aunt, but I also use a piece of advice given to me by Sorin, 10 years ago. Maybe the long experience of cooking dumplings also helps me make the dumplings I like.
Ingredients: 1 egg
salt
a few drops of oil
6-7 Tbsp semolina
(if you have more than 2 1/2 l of liquid, you can double the quantities)
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Difficulty: low/medium
Method
Separate the egg yolk from the white. Add a pinch of salt to the egg white and beat with your fork until firm.
Quickly add the egg yolk and a few drops of oil and mix.
Now it's time to add the semolina. I usually add 2 tablespoons at a time. Mix carefully until incorporated; add another 2 tbsp, mix again until mixed well. The consistency of the batter should be rather hard, but not very hard - it should not leak and you should be able to leave marks on the batter with your fork. If the egg is bigger you might need to add another tablespoon of semolina, if it is smaller, 6 Tbsp should be enough. In time, after cooking dumplings several times, you will learn to know the right consistency - that of a very reach cream.
Leave the batter to rest for 5 minutes before putting the dumplings into the boiling water or soup. Use a long tailed teaspoon. Put the teaspoon into the hot soup and then take one teaspoon of the batter and put it in the boiling soup. Finish the batter, partially cover the pot, and let it boil for 10 minutes or so at medium heat. You can check your dumplings by pushing them to the margins of the pot. If they seem soft and fluffy, they're ready. If necessary let them boil longer or add a cup of cold water, bring to boil, cover completely and turn off the heat. Let them rest for 5 more minutes. You can serve them in any soup - I prepare them for clear chicken or meat soup and for tomato soup. Enjoy!
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