Dumpling satisfaction

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When I tell friends that the first dumplings I ever tasted were gnocchi coated in brownbutter, more than a few eyebrows raise. Accustomed to the whole apple-baked-in-a-pastry-type dumpling, they think I am confused. How could I mistake a savory Italian entree for this luscious treat?

Sweet or savory, pea-sized or the expanse of a fist, dumplings vary from cuisine to cuisine. Some, like gnocchi, remain unfilled. Others, such as pirogis and wontons, are packed with fruits, meats, cheeses or vegetables. Served as a main dish, a side dish or added to a stew, dumplings depend largely upon their homelands for their roles and flavors.

Eastern European Jews cook matzo balls from a mixture of matzo meal, eggs and chicken fat and feature them in soups. Ukrainians dine on onion-topped halushki, while Poles favor onion- and potato-stuffed pirogis. Meanwhile, Asia offers such pork- and shrimp-laden delicacies as the wavy-edged wonton and semicircular jiaozi. Great Britain serves a plethora of dessert and dinner dumplings, including the bread-dough-based Norfolk and the beef-dripping-infused Derbyshire.

The exact origins of dumplings remain a mystery. Some historians, such as the late Alan Davidson, point to Europe in the early 17th century, when the word "dumpling" supposedly first appeared in print. Others suggest that they arose in 10th-century China and were introduced later to Russia and Continental Europe by nomads.

All agree, however, that these globes of cooked dough arose from peasant cuisines. Dumplings were a way to stretch meals and satisfy hunger at a time when appetite-sating meat was a rare luxury. Added to a soup or stew, dumplings were an inexpensive way to expand those dishes. Topped with a sauce, gravy, butter or meat drippings, they became economical and hearty entrees in their own right.

Scholars also concur on what makes a dumpling a dumpling. It boils down to three things — method of cooking, basic ingredients and general shape. Boiling is one preparation technique. Steaming is the other.

Dumpling dough remains fairly simple, based on grains, legumes or vegetables such as potatoes. Many early recipes call only for flour, salt and water. A few insist upon a leavening agent, while others add eggs, butter and milk to the mix.

Dough from Germany, Austria, and Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic, consisted of bits of stale bread soaked in milk or water and then combined with egg, cheese, bacon, minced liver or herbs. In Scotland, it was flavored and colored by herbs, nettle leaves and dandelion greens.

Given such a wide variation of ingredients and cooking styles, there is a dumpling to suit every mood and taste.

When making plain dumplings, I decide on a recipe based on the ingredients I want to incorporate, and then I have two paths I can take. I can pull off bits of dough and roll them into balls or push the dough through a sieve to make tiny dumplings.