Plump Pea Dumplings

Thanks to Jennifer for sending me this recipe for Plump Pea Dumplings. I think the recipe is American and not from a particular global dumpling tradition (Italian-flavoured garden peas in Chinese wonton wrappers) but I like the dumpling tradition of getting-friends-involved-in-a-dumpling-production-line. And so today I had Clare round to join the industrial dumpling revolution.

Before she arrived I made the filling of 2 cups of frozen peas just cooked for a minute in boiling water, blitzed together with 2/3 cup of ricotta cheese, zest of a lemon, a minced small shallot, salt, 2 tbsps olive oil and a hunk of grated Parmesan.

The recipe called for wonton wrappers. There's a small Chinese micromarket nearby, which smells a bit, and has only patchily-filled shelves. With Clare half an hour away I was growing concerned about whether these wanted wonton wrappers would be a no-show. However, not only were they in the tiny freezer 'section' but they were only 99p. Yes.

Here they are, laid out ready for their filling.

Clare arrived bringing tales of disappointing Jamaican dumplings. Oh dear. I'll have to leave attempting those until I'm more of an expert.

Back to the dumplings at hand. Only a small teaspoon of filling is needed on each wrapper or they'll not fold well. Here is Clare doing perfect portioning while I just look on like I'm David Bailey.



Now for the wonton wrapping. According to the recipe 'wonton packets have folding diagrams' but not ours. So we freestyled.

First fold diagonally across, making sure to get rid of any air bubbles, and sealing with a watery wet edge.Then fold each corner into the centre, again sealing with a wet edge. Repeat until all the filling or wrappers are used up. Arrange prettily on a plate.

We boiled each dumpling for a minute only, before frying in oil and butter. Here's where a production line really is helpful. I was on boiling duty and Clare on frying duty.

Finally, serve up sprinkled with sea salt. Totes noms.