Strawberry dumplings

What comes to mind when you think of the word summer? From a culinary perspective, fresh fruit is definitely one of the bigger attractions. Last weekend, the family picked up a batch of strawberries and tasked me with figuring out what to do with them. The possibilities with strawberries are endless; pie, strudel, cake, muffins... even in cookies as jam filling. However, I had something more... unique in mind.

I don't know why, but I really wanted to make a dumpling with a strawberry in it; is that too much to ask? Apparently, because almost all the recipes I found had american dumplings (which are just a ball of dough) in a strawberry sauce. When I finally did find dumplings FILLED with strawberries, the dough was made with cheese/curd - which I neither had nor found appetizing.

So, after a bit of digging and some modification, I present to you Strawberry-filled dumplings! They tend to come out a little lumpy around the edges (I'm going to try to improve on this) but they taste so good - and that's what matters, right?

INGREDIENTS

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2 cups flour, sifted

1/2 cup milk

1 egg, separated

2 tablespoons butter, melted

pinch of salt

Strawberries

Icing sugar, sifted

1. Combine the melted butter with the milk and egg yolk (for best results, ensure that the milk and egg are at room temperature)

2. Whisk the egg white until it begins to turn frothy and white, and add this to the wet ingredients (this aids in producing a lighter dough). Add the salt.

3. In another bowl, create a well in the middle of the flour. Add the wet ingredients and knead until a dough forms. Add flour if too wet or milk if too dry - however, be sure to work the dough for a good 15 minutes before adjusting.

4. Wash and hull the strawberries. Take dough and form a layer around each strawberry, making sure that you seal the seam well.

5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; put in the dumplings and boil for around 4 - 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

(The dog wanted some so badly - strawberries are quite alluring)

6. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a plate to cool. Sprinkle liberally with sifted icing sugar (how much you want depends on how sweet you want it to be - remember, strawberries will be slightly tart/sour!)

Enjoy!

ALTERATIONS:

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These turned out nice, but I feel like they could be better! One thing I was considering was adding sugar to the dough - I put in a little under 1/4 cup of sugar, but this did not add to the sweetness at all. I am going to try either a cup of sugar in the dough, or I will create a mix of sugar and vanilla that I will add to the strawberry filling.