Plum dumplings / Galuste cu prune
Ingredients:
4 large potatoes
1 cup white flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 teaspoon salt
10 - 12 plums
2 cups bread crumbs
2 tablespoons cinnamon powder
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon guar gum
3 cinnamon sticks
Directions
Wash the plums and remove the pits by cutting the plums in half. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and let it sit until they are ready to be used. Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes. Turn on the stove and put the potatoes in a pot with water and cook until they are soft, and when the water is boiling add the cinnamon sticks.
Bring a skillet to low heat, add oil and cook the breadcrumbs by stirring occasionally. Pull the skillet off the heat when the breadcrumbs are the color of golden brick, add brown sugar and cinnamon powder and let it sit until it is cool to the touch.
When potatoes are cooked, remove the cinnamon sticks and place the potatoes in a bowl to cool off. When the potatoes have cooled for 5 to 10 minutes then they are perfect to be mashed and form the dough. For the dough, add to the potatoes the following: flour, oil, sugar, guar gum and a pinch of salt; blend all together until it forms a sticky dough.
Put a pot of water on to boil. With your hands covered in flour pull a small part of dough and roll it into the size of a ping pong ball and then flatten it down on your hands. Put a whole or half-size plum in the middle and seal the dough in a ball shape.
Add the plum dumplings to the boiling water and cook for few minutes – about 10. The dumplings are done when they rise to the surface of the water.
Take care that dumplings are not sticking together, so avoid putting more than three or five into the pot at a time.
Drain the dumplings well, and when they're still hot, roll through the breadcrumbs. If you wait too long the breadcrumbs will not stick to the dumplings.
Bon Appetit!
About Daniela:
Follow her on Twitter @vegandishes365 and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/vegandishes365
Daniela was born and raised in Timisoara, Romania, where she spent her teenage years working as a fashion model for Elite. She has appeared in print ads and numerous television commercials in Romania and modeled for various brands in Germany and the U.S. These days, she's working behind the lens as a photographer's assistant and videographer. And when she's not hosting dinner parties for her vegan friends, Daniela dedicates her time to donating and participating in various fundraising events to benefit animals, in particular Last Chance For Animals (LCA).
Daniela is proud to be living and working in America, which in the years following the collapse of Nicolae Ceausescu's Communist regime seemed like only a dream. Despite living through such a difficult socioeconomic transition, Daniela recalls her childhood years spent with family in her grandmother's garden and kitchen as among the happiest of her life.
Long before "farm to table" was revived in America, Daniela was enjoying the culinary practice with her grandmother on a daily basis - growing, harvesting and cooking her own healthy and nutritious plant-based dishes. After moving to Los Angeles in 2010 and discovering the Hollywood vegan lifestyle, Daniela incorporated much of what she learned back home into dishes she cooks for her vegan friends.
Now, she's thrilled to be sharing her vegan recipes and cooking tips with HNGN's readers, who will be salivating in no time.
