Happy New Year!!! and croquembouche photo!

We're counting the last hours this year and I want to wish everyone the Happiest New Year!!! I hope you'll enjoy your New Year's Eve parties and all the last year troubles will be forgotten! Health and loving people around you!!!

And this is the last photo this year as well as the last challange! I made croquembouche with caramel. Even managed to form a star for my edible tree. Still I'll continue to decorate them before serving as I'm planning to add some berries and chocolate on it. See you next year!! I also filled profiteroles with basic pastry cream.

If you want to make caramel, you need:

100 gr sugar
75 ml water

What you have to do:

1. Put sugar in a pot. Pour over the water and turn on the heat. Do not stir!
2. Boil until it turns light brown. Then place the pot in a cold water to stop cooking.

Be very careful while handling with the caramel as it is very hot and might burn easily.

Getting ready for Croquembouche

Tomorrow for the New Year's Eve party I decided to make Croquembouche, that is why I've made those profiteroles or 'choux' pastry cookies. I left the assembling for tomorrow because I want the cookies to remain crunchy on the outside. Otherwise the pastry cream will make it softer. Anyway, if you are still not sure what to serve tomorrow, you can make those mini cakes/ cookies ( you call it!) and fill with either savoury or sweet filling and serve on your buffet! Have a lovely evening!

What we need ( for about 50 profiteroles):

300ml water
150 gr butter
a pinch of salt
5 medium eggs

What we have to do:

1. Put water and butter into a pot and bring it to boil.
2. Put a pinch of salt and flour. Stir until you get a lump of pastry for 3-4 min.
3. Remove the pastry into a cool bowl, let it cool for 10-15 min.
4. Add the eggs, one by one and mix the pastry constantly until you get smooth yellow pastry.
5. Place the pastry into a confectioner's bag, place baking paper on a baking tray and form 1.5 - 2 cm balls.
6. Pre-heat the oven ( 200C) and place the profiteroles. Bake for 15 min then reduce the temperature until 180C and bake for 10 more minutes or until they are light brown. Let it cool and fill in with your favourite filling. Enjoy!

Gravlax

It is definitely a season for salmon and especially for gravlax is a 'Scandinavian dish consisting of raw salmon , cured in salt, sugar, and dill, which is usually served as an appetizer, sliced thinly and accompanied by a dill and mustard sauce, either on bread of some kind, or with boiled potatoes' ( quoting Wikipedia). In order to make this dish, I looked up some videos on the Internet and was amazed how easy it is to make it. The only thing is that we have to wait at least 24 hours before serving. I made them yesterday, tried today and it tasted really great. But packed again and left for the New Year's party as despite being easy to make, it is quite a festive dish for me. This time I ate it just with seasoned cucumber, but for the party I'll definitely make mustard and dill sauce. You still have 2 days until the end of this year, so give it a try!

What we need:

500 gr of salmon fillet with skin
250 gr of salt
200 gr of sugar
a good bunch of fresh dill
a good pinch of black pepper
( Some recipes advice using some vodka or rum)

What we have to do:

1. Clean the fish, mix salt, sugar, pepper and chopped dill and cover it with this mixture.
2. Roll cured fish into cling film. Place it in a fridge for 24-36 hours.
3. Before serving, remove remaining salt and sugar mixture, slice thinly. Enjoy!

You can also have a look at the video with all the instructions.

Flavoured cheese balls

For breakfast I decided to try some ideas that I'm planning to make for New Year's Eve party! So called reahearsal... :D
What we need:
cream cheese ( it can also be mixed with crumbled feta or cheddar cheese, flavoured with garlic or herbs, seasoned with salt and pepper)

for secret filling:
olives or grapes or a piece of blue cheese or cherry tomatoes or small chilli peppers

for topping:
pistachio nuts
paprika and ground permesan cheese mix
finely chopped herbs ( parsley, dill, basil)
wallnut, etc.

What we have to do:
1. The first thing you have to do is to use your imagination and then start creating mini cheese balls. If you are adventurous make them spicy or herbed or garlicy.
2. To make it more surprising fill cheese balls with various fillings - olives, grapes, cherry tomatoes, chilli peppers, or any pickles. Use your imagination so your guests would be surprised by each bite!
3. Coat cheese balls with your favourite balls to get different flavours and colours. Let them sit and cool before serving! And they can be perfectly made one day ahead! Enjoy!

A warm appetizer - chicken slices wrapped in smoked bacon

While I was looking through my food photos I noticed that there are so many great dishes that were not blogged. At this time of the year everyone is looking for something easy and still festive. So this dish I made a month ago while visiting my mother in Lithuania.

What we need:
1-2 chicken breasts cut in stripes
300 gr of sliced bacon
salt and pepper
rosemary
olive oil


What we have to do:
1. Slice chicken breasts into stripes. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Wrap chicken in bacon and drizzle some rosemary leaves on top.
3. Place wrapped chicken on a baking tray, add some olive oil and bake for 20 min in an oven ( 190C).
4. Serve with your favourite salad. Enjoy!

Getting ready for New Year's Eve - fig and smoked turkey appetizer

I've already started thinking what I'm going to serve for the New Year's eve. I just know that I really don't want to spend all day cooking as I REALLY want to enjoy the celebration not just to wait for the midnight just to go to bed as soon as possible. This year I'll definitely make small easy bite sized appetizers. Here's one that I tried this morning. Very easy, looks good and tastes great!

What we need:

sliced smoked turkey breast ( you can try ham, or any other type of meat)
dried figs
rocket leaves or any other a bit bitter lettuce
permesan ( optional)

What you have to do:

1. Place a rocket leaf, place a stripe of meat, put them through the skewer, then add a half of fig and then again go through the rocket and the meat.
2. Place the appetizers on the plate and you can add some shaved permesan cheese. Enjoy!!!

Easy peasy!!!

Herring with pickled vegetables

When everyone has finally moved from Christmas tables it is time to show what I had on mine. So let me start with one of my favourite and the most missed thing in Turkey - herring with vegetables. It is a must have dish on any Lithuanian table and everyone love it. To my great dissapointment my Turkish family don't like it as they don't like anything that is not actually cooked. Still it doesn't change my taste bugs.

What we need:

2-3 salted herrings
2 boiled carrots
1 onion
2 tbsp of sunflower seeds
a pinch of sumac or cinamon ( optional)

for marinate:

500 ml of water
1 teaspoon of salt
1,5 teaspoon of sugar
2 tbsp of white vinegar
2-3 peppercorns
1 bay leave

What we have to do:

1. Prepare the marinate. Boil the water then add sugar, salt and spices. When sugar and salt melts, add the vinegar. Mix it, turn it into boil and remove from the heat. Pour over cut carrots and onions. Leave until it cools.
2. Cut the herring into small pieces, place onto a serving dish. Add pickled vegetables, sprinkle some sumac and sunflower seeds on top. Serve cold.

Broccoli soup with blue cheese

It's good in winter! We have Christmas in winter!!!

I hope all of you are enjoying this wonderful holiday and if you are still full after all the celebrations, try this tasty and simple broccoli soup with blue cheese crumbles.

What we need:

1 head of broccoli
1 onion
1 teaspoon of olive oil
2 l of vegetable stock
salt and pepper
100 gr of blue cheese
thyme

What we have to do:

1. Put chopped onion into a pot with some olive oil. Fry until soft for 3-4 min.
2. Add broccoli and vegetable stock. Boil until soft.
3. Puree in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper, thyme.
4. In a serving dish put some blue cheese/ gorgonzola cheese and pour over the soup. Add some more blue cheese on the top. Enjoy!!!

Chocolate truffles

So one day to go to Christmas and I'm getting tired. The good thing is that I made most of the prep-cooking today and hopefully I'll still have a few hours just for myself before Christmas Eve dinner. Still I decided to make those little truffles just to try some different recipe as it was the first time I've made them. They look really nice and taste really great. Just have to decide how to pack them! 24 hours to go...

What we need:

300 gr of bitter or semi-sweet chocolate
200 gr of heavy cream
30 ml of whiskey or your favourite strong drink
some cacao, nuts for coating

What we have to do:

1. Break chocolate into small pieces.
2. Put the cream into a pot and turn it into boil.
3. Pour hot cream over the chocolate and start stiring. Then add the whiskey.
4. Place the bowl with chocolate into the fridge and leave for 4-5 hour or overnight.
5. Take the bowl out of the fridge and leave for 20-30 min in a room temperature. Then scoop little balls, continue shaping with your hands and roll in cacao or nuts. I used cacao, coconut and pistachio nuts for coating.
6. Put the truffles into a fridge until serving. Enjoy!!!

May your world be filled with warmth and good cheer this Holy season, and throughout the year! Wish your Christmas be filled with peace and love. Merry Xmas!!!

Miss chicken with roasted butternut squash

I know hundreds ways of preparing chicken but still my favourite recipe is simply roasted chicken. Yesterday I decided to make chicken the way my mother used to make when I was a child. I don't even know why she doesn't make this type of chicken any more. Maybe because there is such a great variety of spieces all around which help to get different flavours each time. In my family for Christmas dinner we used to make not Turkey but huge Chicken. And each time it was a winner. And if it was served with roasted vegetables ( usually with potatoes, carrots and onion) and roasted apples, and we went crazy!!!

What we need:

1 chicken
2 tbsp of salt
1 tbsp of ground black pepper
a pinch of ground bay leaves
6 cloves of garlic
some chopped rosemary ( my mum didn't use it, but I decided to add some!)
3 tbsp of butter

for roasted butternut squash:

1 butternut squash
salt and pepper
2 tbsp of olive oil
some fresh thyme

What we have to do:

1. Clean the chicken and dry it with kitchen paper towel.
2. In a bowl mix salt, pepper, ground bay leaves, finely chopped garlic, and chopped rosemary.
3. Rub the chicken with the spice mix and leave it for several hours ( I generally make it in the morning and roast the chicken in the evening).
4. Before putting the chicken into the oven, rub the chicken with soft butter.
5. Place it now in a preheated oven ( 200C) and leave it for 30 min. Then with a spoon pour the melted butter and chicken fat over the chicken and continue roasting. Repeat it every 10 min. Total baking time is 70 min but still it depends on the size of your chicken. So keep checking!
6. For roasted butternut squash, cut it in smaller pieces, drizzle some olive oil, salt and pepper. Place it on a baking tray add some fresh thyme and roast for 40-50 minutes until it is soft. It tastes absolutely delicious.

For Christmas this year I'll make the same chicken just I'll roast it with apples. They give so much freshness to the chicken! Have a lovely day!!!

Sunday in Taksim - the heart of Istanbul

I love going out despite the cold weather or rain. That was exactly what happened last Sunday. It was quite cold in the morning. At 11 am you could even see some snowflakes falling. However, at 1 pm it stopped and when we got to Taksim, the rain stopped. So the first thing we did was simple - we found a lovely cafe and have a cup of salep and some sesame buns with cheese and ground beef. It was really warming.

Then we walked along the busiest street in Istanbul - Istikklar Street and looked how it is getting ready for New Year's Eve ( personally I call it Christmas preparations :D ).Stepped by in St. Ann's Chuch - a very cosy catholical church ( if you are in Istanbul next weekend, come to listen to Christmas carols in the evening!) And of course we did some window shopping and later on drank some coffee in one of the best coffee places in Turkey - Gloria Jean's Coffee.Couldn't miss going to fresh fish market although it was so small. Most probably because of cool weather. And went to buy some vanilla sticks in a tiny spice shop. Saw some spices that I hadn't even heard before! One thing was true - you live and learn!!!
Here's the Christmas Tree being decorated... I bet it looks gorgeous late in the evening!

Have a peaceful Christmas time!!!

Planning Christmas Eve Dinner the Lithuanian way and Turkish börek

Christmas Eve dinner is the most important event in my house. Most probably because it requires much preparation and the dinner must be meatless. Even though two weeks are still to go, I already imagine myself laying a handfull of dried grass and a white tablecloth with snow white plates, cutlery and a lovely certerpiece with candles. Below have a look at a preliminary menu that I'm going to make for Christmas Eve. The main rules that I follow are - no meat, 12 dishes with main traditional Lithuanian ingredients and a bit of modern touch.

Christmas Eve Dinner Lithuanian way:

1. Pureed beetroot soup with dried wild mushrooms
2. Mini potato cakes
3. Dumplings with mushrooms and cabbage
4. Herring, apple and dried fruit salad with honey and lemon dressing
5. Mushrooms suffed with caramelised onions, spinach and bread crumbs
6. Fried mushrooms with onion and tomato sauce
7. Fish baked in mustard sauce
8. Beetroot, carrot, apple salad
9. Bean and smoked fish salad
10. Baked apples with nuts and raisins
11. 'Kuciukai' - mini yeast dough dumplings
12. Cranberry drink

This is just the first draft. But more or less this is what you might expect if you decide to step by on Christmas Eve at my home. What are you planning for Christmas Eve dinner?

Below have a look at a Turkish classical dish - Börek - spinach, leek and lor ( similar to ricotta cheese) cheese rolled in phillo dough. By the way, I'm also planning entirely Turkish New Year's Eve party! :D

What we need:

9 sheets of phillo
2 tbsp of olive oil
300 gr of lor cheese
100 gr of frozen spinach
1 leek
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp of butter

What we have to do:

1. Fry sliced leek with a butter, add defrosted spinach. Season with salt and pepper. Then mix them with lor cheese.
2. Take 3 sheets of phillo, brush with olive oil, add a third of the filling and roll it. Brush with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Repeat the same with the rest of filling and phillo.
3. Place the böreks into a pre-heated oven ( 180C) and bake for 30 min until they get golden brown and crispy.
4. Serve with fresh vegetables and yogurt. Enjoy!!!

Hungarian goulash with roasted butternut squash

Writing a blog has encouranged me to learn and try many new things. Let's say, a year ago I thought that butternut squash, winter squash, pumpkin and zucchini is almost one and the same thing. I've been friends with zucchini since my childhood but the pumpkins and especially butternut squash was completely new. The only reason for trying butternut squash the first time in my life only yesterday is that it is almost impossible to get them in Istanbul or I ractually don't know where! However, during Sacrifice holidays my husband went to his native area in Hatay and found the vegetable I'd been telling him about and he brought it to me more that a thousand kilometres!!! The funny thing is that the local seller was telling him that it is very good for 'kabak tatlısı' ( a local speciality when pumpkin is preserved in honey syrup) and was very surprised when my husband told that we were going to make a savory dish. There are numerous recipes on the internet, but I trusted simple Rachel Ray's advice that butternut squash tastes the best just seasoned with salt and pepper and roasted in the oven. She was right!!! I must confess that I ate a big piece of it just like that!!! For dinner I served it as a side dish with Hungarian goulash! It was such a great combo!!!

What we need:

for goulash:

400 gr of beef
2 tbsp of flour
dried thyme
bay leave
salt and pepper to taste
1 big onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 carrot
2 tomatoes
1 tbsp of tomato paste
some oil
3 glasses of beef stock


1 butternut squash
salt and pepper to taste
a drizzle of olive oil

What we have to do:

1. Cut the piece into medium sized chunks. Mix flour with salt and pepper, dried thyme and put it into a plasitc bag, add the beef. Shake the bag and remove lightly coated pieces of meat.
2. Preheat a big pot, add some oil and fry each piece of meat on each side. Remove from the pot and reserve.
3. Add chopped onions, garlic and carrots. Fry for 3-4 minutes.
4. Put the meat back into the pot, add peeled and chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and beef stock, bay leave.Correct the seasoning with salt and pepper. Bring the pot to boil and let it simmer for one hour and a half until beef is tender.
5. Cut the butternut squash in half. Remove the seeds. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, add some olive oil on the top. Place the squash onto a baking tray and roast in the 170C oven for 40-50 minutes until it is soft. Then let it cool a bit, peel and cut into cubes or just slices.
6. Serve the goulash with the roasted butternut squash! Enjoy!!!

Cookie bars with chocolate chips and cranberries

Baking is science!!! My last baking experience proved it once again. The story of these cookie bars is like this. Several months ago for the first time I found chocolate chips in Turkish supermarkets. I saw and bought them. I had no inspiration to use them since then as I don't like being very precise with the ingredients. However, it seems that all food bloggers are doing nothing but baking cookies nowdays! So I couln't resist. I have never made cookies before. I mean those beautifully round American style cookies which are crispy on the outside and heavenly soft inside. When I finally made up my mind to make these cookies there was a problem which recipe to choose and at the end I made them my way ( that is the only reason they are not round at all!!!). I used common ingredients just I guess I was a bit mean with flour. Though the biggest mistake I made was that when putting on a baking tray, I made them a bit too big and placed too close to each other. So the final result was a big tray of one big cookie! Luckily, it tasted really great and had the right crispiness and softness inside, so I decided to cut them in bars. Who said that cookies have to be just round!!! :) And I must say it was the first time in the last few years that I had a glass of milk and a cookie. I even had to skip my dinner. But it was worth!!!

What we need:

125gr of butter
200 gr of sugar
1 egg
200 gr of flour
1 tbsp of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
a pinch of ground cardamon
a pinch of ground clove
30 gr of chocolate chips
a handful of dried cranberries ( soaked in hot water beforehand)

What we have to do:

1. Mix butter with sugar. Then add the egg. Mix it well again.
2. Mix in all the spices, flour, baking powder. Then add chocolate chips and cranberries. Then shape the cookies. Then transfer onto the baking tray.
3. Bake in an oven ( 180C) for 10-12 minutes. Let it cool and then serve. Enjoy!!!

Spiced appie pie with caramel sauce

This morning I was ready for baking - yesterday did some shopping, and thought I had everything, however, later noticed that I forgot oranges!!!
So my plans to make Lebkuchen bars had to be postponed. Still remembered the recipe of spiced apple bars from Tuesdays with Dorie. I still made some changes so it turned out into a kind of spiced apple pie with caramel sauce. It is one of the most delicious apple pies I've tried and my addiction to spieces was satisfied!

What we need:

170 gr of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
100gr unsalted butter
200gr light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon dark rum
1 Granny Smith apple
a handful of raisins soaked in rum
a handful of chopped almonds

for the caramel sauce:

3 tablespoons heavy cream
70 gr of light brown sugar
2-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

What we have to do:

1. Mix all dry ingredients.
2. Melt the butter and mix in brown sugar. Remove from the heat, when it cools a bit, add eggs, vanilla extract, rasins soaked in rum and chopped almonds. Then start adding dry ingredients and mix it all. Finally add peeled and cubed apple.
3. Pre-heat the oven 180 C and place the batter into a buttered and floured baking tray. Bake for 20-25 min. Let it cool and then add pour the caramel sauce and after 15 min serve.
4. To cook caramel sauce, melt the butter and mix in the sugar. Then add cream and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Remember it is very hot, so resist the temptation to lick the spoon!!! Enjoy!!!

Ricotta Dumplings with spicy sausage, mushrooms and sage

While I was away in Lithuania and wasn't using the Internet for almost 10 days, my favourite foodblogs got loaded with really great, easy and absolutely delicious dishes. So during the next few days I'm going to try most of them. Today I made a dish from my favourite Greek food blog Kalofagos.com. However, this dish sounds more Italian than Greek. Still, I liked the way it looked and really missed ricotta dumplings ( I grew up eating similar dumplings from Lithuanian cottage cheese!) and I love mushrooms and sage. A really great combination!!! Still I made some changes according to what I had in my fridge - used Turkish spicy sausage ( suçuk), frozen spinach and dry sparkling wine, and increased the amount of flour as the dumplings seemed too sticky.

What do we need:

for dumplings:

150 gr ricotta cheese
80 gr of flour
some starch for dusting ( Kalofagos.com used semolina flour)
a pinch of salt and pepper
1 big egg
50 gr of Graviera cheese or any other firm cheese

for the sauce:

1/2 dried Chorizo sausage
olive oil
4 shallots
4 cloves of garlic
1 cup of Oyster mushrooms or fresh mushrooms of your choice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tsp of fresh thyme
1 tbsp of fresh sage
1 cup of baby spinach ( I used a handful of frozen spinach)
salt and pepper to taste
shaved Graviera cheese

What we have to do:

1. Carefully drain ricotta cheese and mix with beaten egg, grated Graviera cheese, salt and pepper. Then slowly add flour. Leave the dough to rest for 30 min then form dumplings ( It makes 30 dumplings). Place them on dusted surface until boiling time comes ( for freezing options read here). Then bring a pot of water to boil, add a generous amount of salt and place all the dumplings. When it starts to boil, boil until they rise to the top of the pot and then remove them with a slotted spoon. ( It takes about 3 min).
2. To make the sauce, in a hot pan add sliced mushrooms and sausage. Saute your Chorizo and mushrooms until until they are light brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.
3. In the same pan add some olive oil, chopped shallots and minced garlic. When they get soft, add wine, sage, thyme and simmer until the sauce reduces to half. Now add sauteed mushrooms and sausage. Toss to coat with the sauce. Correct seasoning with salt and pepper.
4. As soon as your dumplings have cooked, use a slotted spoon to scoop and transfer the dumplings to the pan. Add the spinach and toss to coat the dumplings with the sauce and to slightly wilt the spinach.
5. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and some shaved cheese. Enjoy!!!

Crispy Fried Black Sea Salmon

When I don't have much time, I go to basics and make very simple dinners. This time I made the easiest dinner ever!!! I cannot even call it a dish but it still tasted so good and crispy skin made it want for more!!!

What you need:

1-2 pieces of fish fillet with skin
salt and pepper
a pinch of chilli
lemon

What we have to do:

1. Clean the fish, remove the bones and dry it with paper towel.
2. Season with salt, pepper, chilli.
3. Preheat the pan. Don't put any oil!
4. Place the fish skin side down and fry for 3-5 min depending on the size. When the skin gets brownish turn it. And again fry for 1-2 min until the fish is done but still juicy.
5. Serve immediately with a wedge of lemon and your favourite side dish or salad. Enjoy!!

Sweet Potatoes with soy glaze

It is a simple but tasty side dish which went so well with crispy fried fish. We loved it!!!

What we need:

2-3 sweet potatoes
2 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbspoon of balsamic vinegar
2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon of white and black sesame seeds
a pinch of chilli pepper
some oil

What we have to do:

1. Peel the sweet potatoes. Wash and cut into medium size pieces.
2. In a bowl mix soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, grated garlic, salt and pepper, sesame seeds, chilli. Pour them over sweet potatoes, mix them well to cover with glaze. Place them into a caserole dish and put into a pre-heated oven (190C) and bake for 40 min. Mix every 10 min in order to glaze the potatoes beautifully! Enjoy!!!

Getting ready for Christmas Eve or Lithuanian 'virtiniai' with dried wild mushrooms

On Wednesday I came back to Istanbul. The good thing is that it is much warmer in here as Lithuanian weather was very depressing with cloudy sky and rain most of the days. Another good thing is that I brought many Lithuanian ingredients which Iam going to use for Christmas Eve dinner. In Lithuania, Christmas Eve dinner is really important and very special as twelve meatless dishes must be prepared. So as I brought some dried wild mushrooms, I made one of my favourite Christmas Eve dinner dishes - dumplings or 'virtiniai' ( as Lithuanians call them) with dried wild mushrooms. I just wanted to check if my husband would eat it as it is really different from what Turkish are used to eat. Luckily he liked it and I'll definitely make it again for Christmas Eve dinner. Really looking forward!!!

What we need:

for the dough:

500 gr flour
1 egg
1 tbsp of oil ( optional)
100 ml of water or milk

for filling:

100 gr of dried wild mushrooms
1 onion
vegetable oil
salt and pepper
bay leaf

for garnish:

2 onions
oil

What we have to do:

1. Pour boiling water over dried mushrooms and leave it for 2-3 hours. Then boil for 10 min.
2. Mix the dough ingredients and knead for 5-7 minutes until the dough is smooth. Cover it and let it rest for 30 min.
3. Chop the onion and fry it with some oil, then add boiled and chopped mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper, add bay leaf. Fry for 3-5 minutes. Then remove the bay leaf and let it cool.
4. Roll the dough. Take a glass and cut out as many circles as you can, add some filling on each, fold it into a half moon and press the sides carefully. Place each dumpling onto a floured surface.
5. Bring a pot of water to boil and season with salt. Add the dumplings. Mix them gently. When they get to the top of the pot ( after 2-3 min) carefuly remove the dumplings and let it rest. Now you can serve with fried onions or let it cool and fry them to make them crispier and then serve with some fried onions. It's all the matter of taste! Enjoy!!!