Green Peas and Dumplings
By Nicole KonstantinakosPublished on October 29, 2024
Time
1 hour
Yield
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Before You Begin
We prefer the sweet flavor and creamy texture of frozen petite peas here, but you can substitute an equal weight of regular frozen peas.We recommend weighing the flour for the best results.
Instructions
- Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add water, peas, and salt and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until peas are tender and plump, about 15 minutes. Off heat, scoop out and reserve ½ cup cooking liquid; cover pot to keep warm.
- Whisk flour, nutmeg, and pepper together in large bowl. Drizzle reserved cooking liquid over flour mixture and, using silicone spatula or wooden spoon, stir mixture until dough comes together in shaggy clumps and some dry flour remains. Continue to stir, pressing and smearing clumps of dough with back of spatula and scraping dry flour from bottom of bowl, until dough comes together to form shaggy mass and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes longer. Using your hands, squeeze dough together in bowl, then transfer to clean counter. Knead dough until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Roll dough into rough 16-inch square; dough should be thinner than ⅛ inch, and you should just see counter through dough. (If dough feels slightly stiff while rolling, let it relax for about 1 minute before continuing to roll.) Using chef's knife or pizza cutter, slice dough horizontally into 8 equal strips. Cut strips vertically at 1-inch intervals to create 2- by 1-inch pieces (it's OK to have some smaller dough scraps or to cut dough slightly unevenly; you should have about 120 dumplings).
- Return pea mixture to vigorous simmer over medium-high heat. Drop dumplings into pot and gently stir to submerge and distribute dumplings. (Use dough scraper or knife to release dumplings from counter as needed.) Return pea mixture to vigorous simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until dumplings are very tender, about 10 minutes. Off heat, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve peas and dumplings in bowls with broth.
Time
1 hourYield
Serves 6 to 8Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
This Southern classic was inspired by Mildred Cotton Council (1929–2018), beloved North Carolina country cook and founder (in 1976) of the celebrated Mama Dip's Kitchen restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In her book Mama Dip's Kitchen (1999), Council encouraged readers to “Treat the recipes like sewing patterns—stretch or alter them to fit.” We took that to heart with her recipe for Country Bonnet Green Peas with Dumplings, which calls for just five ingredients (garden peas, water, butter, flour, and salt) to create a remarkably flavorful and comforting pot of brothy peas and tender, pasta-like dumplings. Our goal was to make a hearty vtersion of peas and dumplings, using frozen peas, that could serve as a fitting side for a holiday roast or a weeknight roast chicken or even as a meal on its own. After testing various ways to make the dish more robust, we settled on just a few small adjustments—adding some sautéed onion and garlic to round out the vegetal sweetness of the broth, plus a hint of nutmeg and black pepper in the dumplings. We scaled the dish to serve a crowd, making it a perfect complement to any Southern-inspired table.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
We prefer the sweet flavor and creamy texture of frozen petite peas here, but you can substitute an equal weight of regular frozen peas.We recommend weighing the flour for the best results.
Instructions
- Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add water, peas, and salt and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until peas are tender and plump, about 15 minutes. Off heat, scoop out and reserve ½ cup cooking liquid; cover pot to keep warm.
- Whisk flour, nutmeg, and pepper together in large bowl. Drizzle reserved cooking liquid over flour mixture and, using silicone spatula or wooden spoon, stir mixture until dough comes together in shaggy clumps and some dry flour remains. Continue to stir, pressing and smearing clumps of dough with back of spatula and scraping dry flour from bottom of bowl, until dough comes together to form shaggy mass and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes longer. Using your hands, squeeze dough together in bowl, then transfer to clean counter. Knead dough until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Roll dough into rough 16-inch square; dough should be thinner than ⅛ inch, and you should just see counter through dough. (If dough feels slightly stiff while rolling, let it relax for about 1 minute before continuing to roll.) Using chef's knife or pizza cutter, slice dough horizontally into 8 equal strips. Cut strips vertically at 1-inch intervals to create 2- by 1-inch pieces (it's OK to have some smaller dough scraps or to cut dough slightly unevenly; you should have about 120 dumplings).
- Return pea mixture to vigorous simmer over medium-high heat. Drop dumplings into pot and gently stir to submerge and distribute dumplings. (Use dough scraper or knife to release dumplings from counter as needed.) Return pea mixture to vigorous simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until dumplings are very tender, about 10 minutes. Off heat, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve peas and dumplings in bowls with broth.
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