Vegetables and Dumplings

My husband and I were craving some comfort food the other night, and my husband’s go-to comfort food of choice is chicken and dumplings. I should mention here that my mother-in-law makes what have to be THE BEST chicken and dumplings in the universe. So, attempting to make a vegan version of the dish that wouldn’t shamefully pale in comparison to his favorite food of all time and just scream incompleteness to his meat-loving palate was a challenge indeed. But, I think that this recipe was a success. I certainly loved it and plan to make it very soon. I think that it is terrific as it is, but you could certainly add meat to it if you are so inclined. Now that it’s cooling down a bit and we’re heading in to fall I plan to be doing lots of vegan/vegetarian translations of comfort food classics — Ideas and suggestions are (as always) encouraged!

Ingredients:

Yields 4-6 servings

For the vegetables and gravy:

– 3 Tbsp. butter or butter substitute, such as Earth Balance

– 1 medium yellow onion, diced

– 1 small leek, cleaned and thinly sliced

– 2 medium carrots, diced

– 3 ribs celery, diced

– 1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms

– 6 cups vegetable stock

– 2 Tbsp. flour

– Salt and pepper to taste

For the parsley dumplings:

– 2 c. flour

– 1 tsp. salt

– 3 tsp. baking powder

– 1/4 c. butter, Earth Balance, or vegetable shortening

– 1/2 c. finely chopped fresh parsley

– 1 c. milk or vegetable stock

Directions:

1. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter (substitute) over medium heat. Add prepped onions and leeks, sautee 2-3 minutes

2. Add carrots and celery and sautee an additional 5 minutes, until vegetable begin to soften

3. Add mushrooms. Cook 3-5 minutes.

4. Add vegetable stock, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for at least one hour uncovered

5. Use a ladle to remove 1 c. of the hot stock from the pot, being careful not to include any pieces of vegetable. (A few bits here and there won’t matter, but you do not want huge pieces of veg in the stock you’re using for this step)

6. In a skillet or saucepan melt the remaining 2 Tbsp. of butter (substitute) over medium heat

7. Add 2 tbsp. flour to the pan and sautee, stirring constantly for 2 minutes

8. Slowly add your cup of hot stock to the pan, stirring constantly until a thick gravy is formed

9. Add your gravy to the pot of vegetables and mix well. Allow to simmer.

And now for the dumplings!

10. In a large bowl sift together flour, salt, and baking powder

11. Add parsley

12. Cut in butter (substitute) or shortening and work in with hands until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs

13. Gently stir in milk or vegetable stock, just mixing until integrated. Do not over-mix!

14. Dip a measuring spoon or melon-baller into the hot stock/gravy and then immediately scoop out a spoonful of the dumpling dough (dipping it into the stock first prevents the dough from sticking to the spoon). Drop into the simmering vegetables and gravy. Repeat with the remainder of the dough.

15. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes

16. Cover pot and simmer for an additional 10 minutes

17. Serve immediately, ladling plenty of the hot vegetables and gravy on and around the dumplings. Enjoy!