Italian herb dumplings with toasted pumpkin seeds and roasted baby potatoes.
"Dumplings" as a word its not the most endearing is it? However this main meal is...
When I was searching the cupboards looking for ingredients for a comforting and filling dish I found a packet of suet in the cupboards. Dumplings are pretty easy to make and you can add your own herbs and spices to make them more interesting.
I began by making the sauce I cooked off an onion and a couple of garlic cloves in some olive oil and added three big juicy red peppers. I added some fresh basil and a tin of chopped tomatoes and let the sauce reduce.
In the oven I placed a tray of halved cherry tomatoes with a sprinkling of sea salt if you leave them in the oven on a low gas mark for 1 hour they make your very own sun blushed tomatoes.
In a bowl I made the dumplings using the packet of suet, some water and plenty of salt and pepper, dried herbs, chopped fresh oregano and a teaspoon of pesto. Mixed up with your hands so you have a soft dough and then split into as many small balls as you wish. You could keep your dumplings big or make them small mine were half the size of my fist.
In a heavy based dish I put the sauce with the peppers in first and then placed my dumplings on the top with slices of feta cheese and put in the over for half an hour.
Move the tomatoes to the bottom of the oven as we don't want them burnt just blushed.
Blanch the potatoes in salted water and drain. Put in a oven tin and cover in olive oil - this should make the potato skins crispy on the outside but keep the insides soft and fluffy. A little rock salt and some dried herbs and place in oven for 40 mins on the middle shelf.
Once the dish is golden take out of the oven and sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds and enjoy with a glass of merlot.
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