Grape Dumplings
- Total Time
- 30 minutes, plus cooling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- ½cup/75 grams blue cornmeal (or medium-grind yellow)
- ½cup/70 grams whole-wheat flour, plus more for kneading
- 1½teaspoons baking powder
- ¼teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼cup Concord grape juice (see Tip)
- 1egg
- 2teaspoons melted butter
- 2teaspoons agave (optional)
- 4cups Concord grape juice (see Tip), plus more if needed
- 1½teaspoons cornstarch
- 2cups/10 ounces dark, seedless grapes, plus more for serving
- 2teaspoons agave (optional)
- Vanilla ice cream and fresh tarragon leaves, for serving
For the Dumplings
For the Sauce
Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare dry dumpling ingredients: Sift all dry ingredients into a medium bowl. Use a fork or whisk to blend thoroughly. Dump the contents of the bowl onto a flat, clean workspace. Using your hands, make a round mound at least 1 ½ inches tall, then use fingers to clear a hole in the middle. It should go all the way down to the surface to accommodate all of the wet ingredients.
- Step 2
Combine wet dumpling ingredients: In a small bowl, whisk together grape juice, egg, melted butter and agave, if using. Pour the mixture into the well of the dry ingredients.
- Step 3
Blend dough: Using a fork, gradually fold the dry mixture along the perimeter of the well into the wet mixture in the center, stirring to integrate. Do not overmix. When combined, use your hands to form a ball.
- Step 4
Roll out dough: Sprinkle a small amount of flour onto a dry, clean work surface. Use your hand to spread the flour into a 12-by-12-inch square. Roll the ball of dough into the flour, coating all sides. Generously sprinkle additional flour onto the workspace and slowly mash the ball with your hand. Use a floured rolling pin to flatten dough into a large rectangle approximately ¼-inch thick and 8-by-12 inches wide, dusting the pin with flour as needed to prevent sticking.
- Step 5
Cut dumplings: Using a dry knife or pizza cutter, cut dough into strips to make 1-inch squares. Using a fork, prick each square in three parallel lines, all the way to the work surface. This will help aerate the dough to absorb the grape juice as it simmers.
- Step 6
Make the sauce: Pour 4 cups well-shaken grape juice into a wide, high-sided skillet and turn heat to medium. Dissolve cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of cold water before whisking into grape juice. Add grapes and agave, if desired. Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat.
- Step 7
Cook the dumplings: Using a rubber spatula, carefully add dumplings to boiling juice until skillet is full but not crowded. Stir the dumplings to immerse; the dumplings may touch, but not stack. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Check for overcrowding after 5 minutes, removing extra dumplings if needed. (Discard any remaining uncooked dumplings, or simmer in additional grape juice, if desired.)
- Step 8
Thicken sauce: Uncover simmering dumplings and keep temperature at medium-low. Cook for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens but does not bubble. It should be the consistency of a thick syrup. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Step 9
Spoon mixture over vanilla ice cream and garnish with fresh grapes and tarragon.
- Bottled grape juice tends to settle, so shake thoroughly before using.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
What about gluten-free? What to do here so the texture and flavor of dumplings are not lost? Suggestion from someone who has made them?
When I make cornbread I use cornmeal and masa harina, about 3:1. With the egg, the finely ground masa helps hold it together as well as flour does, plus it's gluten free. And really tasty.
Heaven! OMG so good,
Possum grapes are the tiny grapes that grow on grapevines that climb trees. They are much smaller than muscadines. https://jesseyancy.com/muscadine-or-scuppernong/
We have wild grapes growing on our land. Seems like we could use these? It's pretty easy to get 4 cups of juice by simply cooking the grapes down with a little water. They have a really wonderful flavor,.
Made to mixed reviews -- had leftover concord grape juice from Passover but was accused of using leftover matzoh meal for the dumplings (didn't!). I think I would like it more as a crumble with the dumpling part made as a crispy topping/crust instead of floating in the grape-y sauce, but that would be something completely different. Was excellent with yogurt and a sprinkle of granola for breakfast.
How do the dumplings taste? Do they become dense/rubbery/slimy from being simmered in liquid?
Seems 2 cups of grapes are the same whether they’re small or larger. Obviously it would take more little grapes than larger but if you can pick them free of cost and chemical sprays go for it!
How do the dumplings taste? Do they become dense/rubbery/slimy from being simmered in liquid?
Gluten free version... I altered the flour proportions to 3/4 med blue corn meal and 1/4 cup masa corn flour. This worked well but next time I am going to add 1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch to the dough's dry ingredients. I hope this may give all allows a more "sticky" dough.
If I want to use sugar instead of agave how much should I use? Does it matter that it's not a liquid?
The quantities are small enough here -- given how sweet the grape juice is and how much viscosity it will bring on its own -- that subbing granulated sugar for liquid agave shouldn't make the slightest difference.
There is a town in Arkansas named Possum Grape. I never knew it was named after these!
Made to mixed reviews -- had leftover concord grape juice from Passover but was accused of using leftover matzoh meal for the dumplings (didn't!). I think I would like it more as a crumble with the dumpling part made as a crispy topping/crust instead of floating in the grape-y sauce, but that would be something completely different. Was excellent with yogurt and a sprinkle of granola for breakfast.
I'm so happy to see this. There aren't enough recipes that use grapes and they are so delicious cooked.
From the accompanying article: Ramon Shiloh, a Creek and Cherokee chef based in Tacoma, Wash., recalled a childhood memory of dumplings made by a woman at a powwow in California. They combined corn kernels with hazelnuts, grapes and cinnamon sugar. “The flavor was a dream, and I was hooked,” he said. He now uses cornmeal as a base for his take on grape dumplings.
We have wild grapes growing on our land. Seems like we could use these? It's pretty easy to get 4 cups of juice by simply cooking the grapes down with a little water. They have a really wonderful flavor,.
What about gluten-free? What to do here so the texture and flavor of dumplings are not lost? Suggestion from someone who has made them?
When I make cornbread I use cornmeal and masa harina, about 3:1. With the egg, the finely ground masa helps hold it together as well as flour does, plus it's gluten free. And really tasty.
I live in rural Appalachia Virginia and can get wild muscadines or sometimes, wild grapes, which I assume , are possum grapes. How do I adjust the sauce proportions and times for fresh fruit? I assume that the concord juice would be unnecessary but do I need to add more of the other ingredients, including grapes and time?
Possum grapes are the tiny grapes that grow on grapevines that climb trees. They are much smaller than muscadines. https://jesseyancy.com/muscadine-or-scuppernong/
Heaven! OMG so good,
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