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Twice-cooked mini beef dumplings
Serves 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 2 onions
- 250g lean minced (ground) beef
- 1⁄2tsp nutmeg
- 1tsp salt
- 1tsp freshly ground black pepper
For the egg pasta
- 375g plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
- 2 eggs
For the yoghurt sauce and paprika butter
- 2 garlic cloves
- 500g plain yoghurt
- 4tbsp butter
- 2tbsp smoked paprika
- 1tbsp chilli flakes
For cooking and to serve
- 1tbsp butter
- 2tbsp olive oil
- 1 tomato
- 1tbsp tomato paste
- 1tbsp dried mint
- 1tbsp sumac
Method
Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, make a well in the middle and add 1⁄2tsp salt. Break in the eggs. Add 3tbsp of water and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is stretchy. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and rest for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, to make the stuffing, grate the onions in a bowl, add the remaining ingredients and knead for 3 minutes to combine.
Dust your work surface with flour and divide the dough in half. Using a thin rolling pin, roll out each piece as thinly as you can, using plenty of flour to prevent sticking. Using a sharp knife or a rolling wheel, cut each dough sheet into 3cm squares.
Have a bowl of water handy for dipping your fingers. Using the tip of a teaspoon, place a lump of the filling, about the size of a chickpea, into the middle of one square. Wetting your fingers, pull the four corners of each square together above the filling and press the points together. Repeat with the remaining dough sheets.
You should end up with about 200 small dumplings, or ‘manti’. Warning: this will take a long time. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/ Gas 4. Sprinkle some flour on a wide baking tray. Place the manti on the tray as you finish them, making sure they don’t stick to each other. Put the tray in the oven for 10 minutes to dry the manti but not cook them completely.
To cook the manti, heat the butter and olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Halve the tomato and grate it into the oil, discarding the skin. Add the tomato paste and stir for 2 minutes. Add 1 litre of water and 1tbsp salt, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium, add the manti and boil for 8 minutes.
While the manti are cooking, crush the garlic and mix with the yoghurt. To make the paprika butter, melt the butter in a small frying pan. Stir in the smoked paprika and the chilli flakes and sizzle for 2 minutes. Use a serving spoon to scoop the manti into four bowls. Discard the cooking water. Pour 3tbsp of garlic yoghurt into each bowl, drizzle with paprika butter, top with a pinch of dried mint and sumac, and serve.
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