So, do you find that if you're particularly interested in one hobby - for me, that would be cooking - ALL your gifts at Christmas or for your Birthday are somehow related to that hobby? Or at least most of them - not that I'm complaining! Anyway, last Christmas (among the many I received!) I got a recipe book called "Mamushka", which is full of traditional Ukrainian recipes.
Previously I've made other things from the book, including the Ukrainian take on biscotti, but this recipe was by far the tastiest! A couple of weeks ago, for my Mum's birthday (along with the White Chocolate Tartlets), I made Pork Ribs and Dumplings - not the conventional birthday meal, but still really tasty nonetheless!
The pork ribs were cooking for well over 2 hours, so the meat was literally falling off the bone, and whilst the dumplings are quite heavy, the feeling of absolute satisfaction and being seemingly about to burst open you're so stuffed is definitely worth it!
Pork Ribs and Dumplings - From "Mamushka" By Olia Hercules
Serves 8-10 as a feast
Ingredients -
- 2 Tbsp Sunflower Oil
- 1 Kg (2lbs) Pork Ribs, cut into individual ribs
- 500g (1lb) Potatoes, peeled and quartered lengthways
- 1 Large Onion, sliced
- 50ml Apple Juice or Wine
- 750ml Water
- 1 Bay Leaf
- Sea Salt Flakes and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Sour Gherkins or Sour Aubergines, to serve
Dumplings
- 2 x Recipe Quantities of Kefir Dough
- Plain Flour, for dusting
- 4 Tablespoons
Kefir Dough (Makes about 600g Dough - One Quantity)
- 250g Kefir
- 1/2 Tbsp Sunflower Oil
- 1/2 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
- 1/2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 350g Plain Flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 Scant Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1. Heat the sunflower oil in a large, heavy-based flameproof casserole dish. Season the ribs with salt and pepper and brown them really well over a high heat in batches, making sure they colour nicely. Lift them out the pan and set aside. Don't wipe the pan out.
2. Add the potatoes to the pan and brown well on each side. Add the onion, lower the heat and sweat for 10 minutes or until soft. Add the apple juice or wine and deglaze the pan.
3. Place the meat and its juices back in the pan and pour over enough of the measurement of water to cover. Add the bay leaf, season with salt and pepper and cook over a low heat for 2 hours or until the meat starts falling off the bones.
4. Meanwhile make the Kefir dough. To make the kefir dough, place the kefir, sunflower oil, vinegar, sugar and salt in a large bowl and mix together well with a fork. Sift the flour with the bicarbonate of soda, then sift again into the kefir mixture and mix in. The dough should be soft and pillowy. If it's still slightly sticky, heavily flour your work surface and start kneading the dough, incorporating more flour into it. The dough should stop sticking to your hands when it's ready but also remains soft. Divide it into 4 pieces.
5. Flour the work surface really generously and roll out one piece of dough into a rectangle 2mm (slightly less than 1/8 inch) thick. Pour 1 Tbsp of oil over it and rub it all over with your hand. Roll the dough up into a thick sausage shape. Twist it gently at both ends as you would if you were ringing out clothes. Repeat with the remaining dough and oil.
6. Slice each dough sausage into 5cm pieces. You should end up with about 35 dumplings.
7. now check how much liquid there is in the stew. It should be still wet, but not too much. You want your dumpling bottoms to absorb some of the juices, but the tops should steam.
8. Whack up the heat in your stew. It should be boiling like crazy.
9. Now swiftly bt gently pop the dumplings into the stew. Once they are all in, pop the lid over. Now steam should escape. Cook over a high heat for 15 minutes, then lower the heat and cook for another 30 minutes. Serve with Sour Gherkins or Sour Aubergines.
Please Enjoy!!!
2. Add the potatoes to the pan and brown well on each side. Add the onion, lower the heat and sweat for 10 minutes or until soft. Add the apple juice or wine and deglaze the pan.
3. Place the meat and its juices back in the pan and pour over enough of the measurement of water to cover. Add the bay leaf, season with salt and pepper and cook over a low heat for 2 hours or until the meat starts falling off the bones.
4. Meanwhile make the Kefir dough. To make the kefir dough, place the kefir, sunflower oil, vinegar, sugar and salt in a large bowl and mix together well with a fork. Sift the flour with the bicarbonate of soda, then sift again into the kefir mixture and mix in. The dough should be soft and pillowy. If it's still slightly sticky, heavily flour your work surface and start kneading the dough, incorporating more flour into it. The dough should stop sticking to your hands when it's ready but also remains soft. Divide it into 4 pieces.
5. Flour the work surface really generously and roll out one piece of dough into a rectangle 2mm (slightly less than 1/8 inch) thick. Pour 1 Tbsp of oil over it and rub it all over with your hand. Roll the dough up into a thick sausage shape. Twist it gently at both ends as you would if you were ringing out clothes. Repeat with the remaining dough and oil.
6. Slice each dough sausage into 5cm pieces. You should end up with about 35 dumplings.
7. now check how much liquid there is in the stew. It should be still wet, but not too much. You want your dumpling bottoms to absorb some of the juices, but the tops should steam.
8. Whack up the heat in your stew. It should be boiling like crazy.
9. Now swiftly bt gently pop the dumplings into the stew. Once they are all in, pop the lid over. Now steam should escape. Cook over a high heat for 15 minutes, then lower the heat and cook for another 30 minutes. Serve with Sour Gherkins or Sour Aubergines.
Please Enjoy!!!
