Captain's Log, Stardate 06.13.2008
So, remember I talked about old cookbooks from Goodwill? Well, I got another one, this one by some Italian brothers I’ve never heard of, but the cookbook was titled Pasta so who could resist that?
There was an interesting recipe I’d never heard of before, spinach and cheese dumplings. Basically you make cooked spinach into a paste with ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and a spice mix of pepper, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. You coat the dumplings in flour and boil them, kind of like gnocchi.
Well, guess what? The paste was a bit more watery than I expected, even though I had squeezed the water out of the spinach, and then the dumplings disintegrated. I had boiling green water.
I didn’t want to waste the entire batch of paste—after all, it was a pound of spinach and a cup and a half of ricotta. So, inspired by hush puppies, I busted out my Fry Daddy.
I added cornmeal and flour to the paste, which made it less watery but still not-dough, coated the dumplings with flour, and then deep fried them instead of boiling them in water.
They weren’t bad, if I do say so myself. Very soft inside, with a thin crispy outside. The cheese makes it a little gooey.
But here’s the kicker—the paste is bright green. Not just slightly green or dark olive green, but neon alien anti-freeze green. The fried flour coating makes it a bit brownish green, but once you bite into it, it’s blinding.
Because the paste was so not-dough, I couldn’t shape it much and so the dumplings turned out to look a bit like turds. Sorry if that’s TMI, but that’s the first thing Captain Caffeine and I said when we saw the finished products.
But if they taste good, that’s all that matters, right?
So, remember I talked about old cookbooks from Goodwill? Well, I got another one, this one by some Italian brothers I’ve never heard of, but the cookbook was titled Pasta so who could resist that?
There was an interesting recipe I’d never heard of before, spinach and cheese dumplings. Basically you make cooked spinach into a paste with ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and a spice mix of pepper, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. You coat the dumplings in flour and boil them, kind of like gnocchi.
Well, guess what? The paste was a bit more watery than I expected, even though I had squeezed the water out of the spinach, and then the dumplings disintegrated. I had boiling green water.
I didn’t want to waste the entire batch of paste—after all, it was a pound of spinach and a cup and a half of ricotta. So, inspired by hush puppies, I busted out my Fry Daddy.
I added cornmeal and flour to the paste, which made it less watery but still not-dough, coated the dumplings with flour, and then deep fried them instead of boiling them in water.
They weren’t bad, if I do say so myself. Very soft inside, with a thin crispy outside. The cheese makes it a little gooey.
But here’s the kicker—the paste is bright green. Not just slightly green or dark olive green, but neon alien anti-freeze green. The fried flour coating makes it a bit brownish green, but once you bite into it, it’s blinding.
Because the paste was so not-dough, I couldn’t shape it much and so the dumplings turned out to look a bit like turds. Sorry if that’s TMI, but that’s the first thing Captain Caffeine and I said when we saw the finished products.
But if they taste good, that’s all that matters, right?
Sorry, Cami, but I agree with the Captain. And a lot times one can get past the look but in this case...?
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't serve these at a party unless the attendees were really close friends. :smile
We love our fry daddy. Do you like fried okra?
ReplyDeleteLOL! Goodness Camy you sure know how to capture attention with your blog headlines. Too funny!
ReplyDeleteHey Camy, Sorry to do this on your comments, but can you change the link in your sidebar for my name Tyora Moody to www.tyoramoody.com.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Ty
Patricia, the Captain said it might have been better if the dumplings were smaller, like hushpuppy size, so then they wouldn't look so much like turds. I think he's right. But I love the taste so it didn't bother me as much as it did him. And we ate them with this great marinara sauce I made (super easy, it's a no-cook recipe) so that made them look a little better to the Captain.
ReplyDeleteBrittanie, I've never had fried okra but I'd love to try it sometime!
Ty, I'm changing it right now. Thanks!
Camy
Camy, loved the title. The picture did do it justice. I am not sure if I could have eated them with a straight face. And then marinara sauce it might have started to look like a really strange christmas side dish.
ReplyDeleteI think I will pass on asking for the recipe and wait for the next one.