Pork and Apple Dumplings with Roast Onion Purée.

This is the first time I've ever made or eaten dumplings, and quite frankly I think they're weird-a good idea, but weird. Next time I make these (and I will be making them again, cause I like the concept) I will make quite a few adjustments. 

I got the idea to make these from a video on YouTube by The Dumpling Sisters (found at this link:http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qWkvFssMz24 ). The dumplings they made looked perfect, with little golden bottoms-tiny little parcels of yummyness. You can see for yourself how good they look, and why I had to have a go at making them. 

However, as it turned out, the dough used for the dumplings is really odd. If you're familiar with making dough, just watching them make it would give you an idea of what it's going to taste like. If 

you don't frequently make dough, I'll give you an idea....Bland. Bland is what it tastes like.

It's literally just made from plain flour, water, and a pinch of salt. This means not a lot of flavour, so I would recommend upping the seasoning for the pastry, plus adding some kind of extra flavouring, 

like herbs, or cheese, or the zest of a citrus fruit,depending on what you're putting in them. The way they are cooked in the video also has it's pros and cons. I'm definitely in favour of golden bottoms. Those were chewy and pretty and just right, but the rest of the dumpling didn't taste like the flour had been cooked, and the texture was damp and mushy...soooo, to fix this, I think it would be worth carrying out the same procedure but after boiling/steaming, I would place them in a hot oven (200C) for about 15 or 20 minutes to make the outside crispy and delicious.

Yes, I know, this may be more than giving a dumpling a makeover, it's more like changing its entire 

character (I didn't even fill it with Asian flavourings. Bad Liz.), BUTTT, really, I think it needed it.

Also, if I made the same filling again, I think I would change the sausage meat to seasoned diced 

pork as I felt they needed a meatier flavour- bug if you're following this recipe, it's really your choice. :)

Ingredients:

• 6 good quality pork sausages, meat squeezed from skins.
• One apple, peeled and chopped in to tiny pieces. The size of the head of a drawing pin, or smaller, will do.
• The ingredients for dumpling dough, as found on the video in the link.
• Two onions, chopped in to quarters
• Black pepper
• Sugar

Method:

•  In a preheated oven of 180C, place the onions in a light coating of oil on non stick foil for 40 minutes. Once thus time is up and the onions are cooked, remove from the oven and place in a sturdy bowl. Liquidise the onions and season with about 2 tablespoons of sugar. This can now be kept in the fridge or eaten straight away. To reheat, place in the microwave on full power for about 3 mins, stirring halfway through. Ensure it is piping hot before serving.
• Mix up the sausage meat and apple in a bowl and leave in the fridge until you have made the dough.
• Follow the instructions in the video on how to make the dough for the dumplings (although I advise extra seasoning/flavourings)
• Take a rolled out circle of dough and cup it in your hand. Take a teaspoon full of the sausage 
• meat mixture and place it in the centre of the dough. Fold the top of the dough around the filling, as shown in the video and repeat until all the dough circles are used up,
• Heat a non-stick pan to a medium-high heat and place the dumplings in, bottoms down. Once golden on the bottom add 100ml water, cover the pan and let the water boil off.
• This is where I would recommend placing the dumplings in the oven for 15 mins to get a better texture (might be nice to egg wash them too).
• Once everything is done, serve with salad, and the onion purée. If my filling doesn't sound like your thing, try something else- these dumplings seem pretty versatile to me. I may try making some sweet ones soon.... Hmm... There's an idea... :)