Spring Vegetable and Chive Dumpling Potpie
SPRING VEGETABLE AND CHIVE DUMPLING POTPIE
Recipe by Ali Jepson and Evan Dohrmann, Little Red Bike Café
4823 N Lombard St, Portland, OR 97203
Yields about 6 servings
Sauce
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups vegetable broth
Filling
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 medium onions, chopped
1 1/2 stalk green garlic, trimmed and chopped
1/2 lb new potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 lb asparagus, trimmed and sliced on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
1 cup shelled peas, from 1 lb in the pod
1 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp lemon zest
3 Tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Chive Dumplings
6 Tbsp cornmeal
6 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
3 Tbsp finely chopped chives
1. Sauce: Melt butter over low heat. Add flour and increase heat to medium. With a wooden spoon, stir butter and flour constantly until they begin bubbling and start to turn slightly golden. Slowly whisk in vegetable broth. Whisk until the sauce is very smooth. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 5 minutes. Once the sauce has thickened, set aside and begin cooking the filling.
2. Filling: Melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion and green garlic. Stirring occasionally, cook until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add the onions to the thickened sauce. Stir in potatoes, carrots, asparagus, peas, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, and dill. Return the saucepan to medium heat, and stirring often, cook until the potatoes and carrots begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Dumpling batter: Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. Add butter to dry ingredients and cut into pea-sized pieces using a fork or a pastry blender. In a separate bowl, whisk milk and egg together. Add milk mixture and fresh chives into the cornmeal mixture and stir just to moisten.
4. Drop rounded tablespoons of batter onto the bubbling filling. Cover the saucepan and adjust heat to keep the potpie at a gentle boil, until dumplings are cooked, about 10 minutes.
5. Use a knife to cut into one of the dumplings to make sure that they are firm throughout. Remove the saucepan from heat and spoon filling and dumplings onto serving plates.
