The ultimate experiment in the kitchen this week was the attempt to make steamed dumplings out of items in my fridge and pantry that needed to be used. The filling came to me after I decided to make a spicy plum dipping sauce and thought curried cauliflower would be perfect! The roasted chickpeas and pomegranate added the perfect amount of crunch in these soft delicious pillows. Also - those in fear of using wontons for the first time, trust me, they are incredibly easy to work with and can be used in a variety of different ways. The prep is becoming a fast favorite because like pizza, you can stuff these pretty much anything you want, how fun is that!
Ingredients:
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 1 can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1 pomegranate
- 1/2 c coconut milk
- 1 package of wonton wrappers
- 1 c plum jam
- 4 T sriracha
- curry powder
- turmeric
- ginger powder
- cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper
1. Remove cauliflower from the stalk and separate into even sized florets.
2. Cut pomegranate in half.
3. In a bowl of water, pull apart the pomegranate allowing the seeds to sink to the bottom of the bowl once removed from the flesh. The flesh will float which lets you remove from the bowl leaving all of the seeds behind.
4. Preheat oven to 450° F. On a lined baking sheet sprinkle salt, pepper, cayenne, and ginger over the chickpeas. Bake for 10 minutes, pull out, shake around, and bake for an additional 10 minutes until roasted.
5. At the same time, on another lined baking sheet, sprinkle the cauliflower liberally with curry powder, turmeric, salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes or until cauliflower is fork tender and lightly browned.
6. Remove from oven and place in a small blender.
7. Remove from oven and set aside.
8. In a small blender, combine the curried cauliflower with the coconut milk. The filling should be chunky so start with using just a little of the coconut milk and add more to smooth it out slightly.
9. Blend until the consistency of chunky peanut butter.
10. To assemble the dumplings you'll need a small water dish, a dry plate, wonton wrappers, and the cauliflower filling, pomegranate seeds and chickpeas.
11. Place wonton wrapper on the dry place. Spoon 1/2 t of the filling into the middle of the wrapper. Add 2 chickpeas and a few seeds. You do not want to over stuff wonton. Using your finger, dip into the water dish and place around all edges of the wonton, and fold in half, sealing all edges.
12. On the folder edge, bring the two corners together and seal with more water. Set aside dumpling on another dry place, with seam facing up as to not stick.
13. In a sauce pan filled with water, bring to a boil to lower to a simmer. Using a steamer that has been sprayed with non-stick spray place the filled dumplings seam side down.
14. Place lid on the saucepan and let the dumplings steam for 10 minutes.
15. In a small saucepan add plum jam, sriracha, and a touch of leftover coconut milk to thin it out. Stir until the sauce begins to bubble.
16. Serve dumplings on a plate and the spicy plum sauce in a small dish. Use chopsticks if you have them!
Like a said before, another "the possibilities are endless" when it comes to dumplings. I wouldn't have changed anything about how I prepared the wontons so I cannot wait to keep trying different combinations of filling. I think that is truly why I enjoy cooking so much is that you can always take some familiar and spin it slightly to create something new. Reminds me my brain isn't completely turning into mush (but even then, could be an interesting (non-vegan) filling... jk).
Cheers,
Kate
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