To make the dough, the key steps are to bring the water, butter and salt to a boil and melt the butter completely. Then add the flour and make a thick paste. The flour will “fir” the bottom, literally make it look furry, and should cook long enough to take away the raw flavor. I find it best to simply keep your nose handy, and when it smells of cooked flour, that is good enough for me. With the addition of the almighty egg, the paste magically becomes a silky, glossy dough. After a 30 minute nap, poach the dough in simmering water to make light, cheesy dumplings that will not fall apart even after hours in a soup.
Pro Tip: have the poaching water close to the top of the pot. The further the dumplings have to drop the higher the splash and that hurts. Also, dip the knife in the poaching water to help slick the cutting surface and create less drag.
- ¾ C water
- 3 oz butter
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 C all purpose flour
- 1 T Dijon mustard
- 2 T parsley, chopped
- ½ C swiss cheese or parmesan
- 3 lg eggs
- Combine water, butter and salt and simmer
- Stir in flour with a wooden spoon until dough firs the bottom
- Stir 5 min until it steams and you can smell cooked flour
- Transfer dough to a mixer and add mustard, parsley and cheese and mix
- Mix on low adding eggs 1×1 until proper texture—should slide off a spoon
- Fill a pastry bag (or zippered plastic bag) and let dough rest 30 min
- Fill a medium sized pot with salted water and bring to a simmer
- Cut the tip from the bag and with a pairing knife cut the batter as you squeeze it out though the hole. This takes some practice, but do it several times in a row and you’ll get the feel for it.
- The dumplings will sink to the bottom of the pot and then float to the top
- When the dumplings begin to turn themselves over, they are done. Scoop them from the poaching water with a slotted spoon and allow to cool on a cookie sheet.