Our cookbook of the week is Mosquito Supper Club by New Orleans chef Melissa M. Martin. Tomorrow, we’ll feature an interview with the author.
To try another recipe from the book, check out: Boiled shrimp and sweet potato biscuits .
“The ladies down on the bayou,” says Melissa M. Martin , “whenever they make these dumplings they use biscuit mix.” Since many classic Cajun recipes start with boxed mix — Pioneer being the ladies’ preferred brand — she set out to create her own version from scratch.
Martin’s use of lard renders exceptionally fluffy dumplings, and the versatile fat can be used in other baked goods as well. “They always have these solid fats that they add to these baking mixes, so that’s where the lard came in,” she adds. “And you can certainly use Crisco if you want to make it vegetarian.”
(If you opt for butter instead, Martin recommends using one with the highest fat content you can find.)
Smothered in bay-scented blackberry stew, these dumplings take her right back to her childhood. The ice cream stand was next to the blackberry dumpling stand at the church fair, and it only made sense to combine the two.
“We would take our ice cream bowls over and get a blackberry dumpling put on it. That’s just like my childhood in a bottle,” Martin recalls. “They’re delicious. And I’m sure you can make it with raspberries or some other berry that falls apart like a blackberry does.”
BLACKBERRY DUMPLINGS
For the Blackberry Stew:
6 cups (750 g) blackberries
2 cups (500 g) raw unrefined sugar
1 bay leaf (see note)
For the Dumplings:
2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, plus a little more for the top
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 tbsp leaf lard
4 large eggs
1 cup (240 mL) whole milk
Ice cream, for serving (optional)
Step 1
Make the blackberry stew: In a large bowl, combine the blackberries and sugar; add the bay leaf. Let sit at room temperature for a couple of hours.
Step 2
Pour the blackberries and 2 cups (480 mL) water into a wide, heavy-bottomed 8-quart (8 L) pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook for about 45 minutes.
Step 3
Make the dumplings: In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the lard and cut it in with your fingers or a fork.
Step 4
Make a well in the centre of the mixture and crack the eggs into it. Add the milk to the well, then use a fork to whisk the eggs and milk into the flour mixture. Just bring the ingredients together — don’t overmix. Sprinkle a little flour over the batter to cover it. This also helps coat the scoop with flour when you go in to scoop up the dough. Let sit for 5 minutes.
Step 5
Working in batches, use two spoons or a small (#100) cookie scoop to drop the dough into the simmering blackberry stew (see note) and cook, basting the dumplings frequently with the blackberry mixture, until they are set and cooked through, about 6 minutes, then carefully flip the dumplings over and cook, basting frequently, for 5 to 6 minutes more. The dumplings will stiffen and be easy to handle with a slotted spoon. If the batter is still gooey and falling apart, then the dumplings are not cooked yet. Once they are cooked, remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Step 6
Eat the dumplings warm as is or serve with a scoop of ice cream.
Makes: 24 dumplings
Notes: I like to leave the bay leaves in the final recipe. They’re not meant to be eaten, but it makes for a beautiful, rustic presentation.
When cooking the second round of dumplings, you may need to add a little boiling water to the blackberry stew to thin it out.
Excerpted from Mosquito Supper Club by Melissa Martin (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2020. Photographs by Denny Culbert.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
