By Kerin Van Hoosear, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of Seasonal Cooking with Kerin
Everyone loves small bites and finger food! This is a great recipe to make for dinner parties or your friends and family. It’s a simple filling that packs a lot of punch. So don’t be surprised when your guests swoop in on your dumpling platter and decimate it! If you’ve never made dumplings before, don’t worry. It’s like riding a bike. Once you get into the rhythm of it, you’ll be cranking them out at top speed.
Pumpkin & Sausage Dumplings
- 3 sweet/hot Italian sausages, casing removed
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1½ cups pumpkin puree
- 2 medium-sized leeks, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- wonton wrappers (gyoza or any style)
- salt/pepper
- 2 tsp sage
- 2 tsp nutmeg
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil.
Remove the casings from the sausages, and put in the pan to brown. Add a hefty pinch of salt/pepper. Break up the sausages, so that they’re in small crumbled pieces. Once browned, remove from the pan, leaving the oil.
To the pan, add the thinly sliced leeks. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. After about 2 to 3 minutes, add the minced garlic. Saute for another 2 to 3 minutes and remove from pan, leaving the oil.
Now is the time for the pumpkin. Add the puree to the pan, salt and pepper. Also, add the sage and nutmeg. Saute for a few minutes and remove from the pan. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Set in the refrigerator to cool for at least an hour, or overnight.
When you’re ready to assemble, gently remove wonton skins from each other. Place one tablespoon of the filling in the center of the wonton. It may not look like a ton of filling, but if you overfill your dumpling it will be harder to seal, and you may get tears in the wonton skin. With your finger, brush the edge of half of the skin with water, and then pinch the edges of both halves together. With your fingers, gently squeeze out any air bubbles in the dumpling. Place on a floured baking sheet and set in the freezer for at least 1.5 hours, until frozen.
To cook, heat a tbs of vegetable/canola oil in a pan over medium heat. Place the dumplings in the pan flat side down, and let them cook for about 3 minutes. Then add ⅛ cup water, cover with the lid, and let them cook until all the water is gone. Crack the lid if the dumplings seem to be swelling with air. When they are fully cooked, they should just slide right out of the pan. Serve!
This is great!