Saturday, January 21, 2012

Gruyere Stuffed Purple Potato Dumplings with a Walnut Parsley Pesto

Recently I was invited to submit an original recipe to the Idaho Potato Commission as part of their "February is Potato Lovers Month" campaign.  I happily accepted; after all, this challenge involved two things that are close to my heart: potatoes and money. Not only would I (full disclosure) be paid for my time and trouble in creating the recipe, my dish would be featured (along with those of other participants) on the Idaho Potato homepage for the whole month of February. As an added bonus, prize money was up for grabs, as the commission would choose several winners, including best dish, most original recipe, and best photo.

Well guess what kids? I am very proud to announce that the image at the top of this post won in the "Best Photo" category! Many thanks to the Idaho Potato Commission for this award.

And now, let's talk potato. In coming up with our recipes, we were free to use any kind of potato - as long as it was Idaho, of course - to create any type of dish dish we wanted. Appetizer, dessert, side dish - whatever. It was a bit overwhelming, so to narrow it down I settled on purple fingerling potatoes. Because they are pretty. And I am a girl.

See? Pretty. 
Other things I love include any kind of dumpling and cheese. And so, to make a long story short,  my dish was born.

Gruyere Stuffed Purple Potato Dumplings with a Walnut Parsley Pesto

For the potato dumplings:
makes 10 golf-ball sized dumplings 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds Idaho® purple fingerling potatoes (enough to yield 1 pound after cooking, peeling, and ricing)
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon AP flour
1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
1 small or 1/2 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup gruyere cheese, cut into small cubes, plus extra for grating

Method:
The day before you plan to make the dish, boil the potatoes, skin on, in well-salted water until soft (about 15 minutes). Peel the potatoes and run them through a ricer or fine-mesh sieve. Refrigerate, uncovered, overnight. The next day, combine the potatoes, flour, cornstarch, white pepper, and sea salt into a smooth mass. Taste for seasoning and adjust. Add the beaten egg and mix thoroughly. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour. Divide dough into 10 equal parts. Form each into a golf ball-sized ball. Make an indentation in the middle of each dumpling and fill with 1/10 of the gruyere cubes. Close the dough around the cheese and reform into a smooth round dumpling. Place on a cookie sheet covered with floured parchment paper and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator until ready to cook. 

When ready, bring 4 quarts of well-salted water to a boil, and then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook the dumplings a few at a time, being careful not to crowd the pot, until they float, plus an additional minute to make sure the cheese on the inside melts. Serve with a dollop of walnut parsley pesto and grated gruyere cheese. 

For the pesto:

Ingredients:
2 1/2 packed cups flat leaf Italian parsley, stems removed
1 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
pinch of white pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup walnut oil

Method:
Combine the parsley, walnuts, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a food processor. Puree while drizzling in the olive and walnut oils. Adjust salt and pepper to your taste. Store, refrigerated, in a covered glass jar.

Served alone, these make cute appetizers, or you can just load up your plate with dumplings and pesto for a super satisfying dinner. 

You can also view my recipe on the Idaho site here, and don't forget to check out the other dishes on the homepage starting in February. And now allow me to regale you with my other - non-prizewinning - dumpling photos. Because they're purple.


Anyway ... Happy Potato Lovers Month!





39 comments:

  1. Congratulations!

    My daughter just wrote a report on Purple Viking Potatoes for her culinary class and said your dumplings got two thumbs up :-)

    These look way better than the gratin that I made with purple sweet potatoes for New Years...

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  2. How cool! I can completely see those flying off a tray at a party. Who could resist them? Many congrats on your win!

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  3. Wow! Congrats on your win! These really are, um, purple, aren't they? I'm not a girl and I would eat these too even if these weren't from Idaho. Truly trixie potatoes! Weeeee!

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  4. Can't believe these are made of potatoes! Such a beautiful purple & great pics too ... simple recipes for both, would definitely make a nice party appetizer!

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  5. No wonder- the photo and the colors are just stunning! Congrats =) I don't know that I've ever had a purple potato that stayed SO PURPLE after cooking. This sounds so amazing...LOVE ♥ !

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  6. Beautiful, just beautiful... of course you won. I imagine they taste just as good as they look, too. Congratulations!

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  7. Liz Marr, MS, RD @ LizOnFood.comJanuary 21, 2012 at 7:10 PM

    You photos are gorgeous and congrats! For a second, I thought I was looking at a blueberry. The color is so incredibly deep. Looks delish!

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  8. The color of this potato is simply gorgeous. Wowza..what a beautiful dish!

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  9. Congrats and that top photo is gofgeous and you so well deserved tobe chosen what a grest feeling this must be great job xo

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  10. The photo is a stunner, so I am not surprised. Congratulations. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  11. No surprise that this stunner was a winner! Your photos are simply marvelous! I've left a blogger award for you on my Friday post :)

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  12. Congrats and thats an awesome recipe with gorgeous pics. I don't think we have purple potatoes over here but sure will want to try out when its possible to find some of these potatoes.

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  13. I so see why you won... absolutely gorgeous photo. I've loved purple potatoes forever. When people asked me why bother to grow stupid old potatoes, I had 2 words -- purple potatoes. I love them. I think they taste great and look amazing. ONe of my favorite Thanksgiving things is an antique cobalt patterned bowl with purple mashed potatoes and a little parsley... LOVE the colors. Kudos for a great job, Trix!

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  14. This recipe is amazing! And the photos are to die for. Brilliant. Love it.

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  15. Oh wow, those dumpling are just stunning (and not surprised you won best photo too!) - as a dedicated potato lover, you know I'm going to have to make these :)

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  16. This is such a striking color! Love the concept, the flavor combination sounds amazing :) Well deserved Top 9, congratulation!

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  17. I love the color! I have 20 pounds of walnuts that need shelling and pesto sounds like a plan! Thanks.

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  18. Um, this is the most beautiful little dumpling I've seen in a long time. Wow! winning!

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  19. Congrats on winning the photo contest and TOP 9! Well-deserved.
    Your recipe sounds terrific, and we love purple potatoes too!
    LL

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  20. I love the idea! Looks so stylish; plus the taste is incredible! We have wonderful-tasting potatoes here, but none are purple, however, I would still make these dumplings 'cause mom loves dumplings and potatoes as we do/ Yum and congrats for a well-deserved win.

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  21. Congratulations Trix! This looks like an award winning potato dish, I swooned when I saw the picture and the word dumpling in the title of your post. I'm in love with the thought of that first purple bite, color is so important-I'm a girl I admit it!

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  22. Congratulations on winning best photo. The color is beautiful and definitely caught my attention. Nice work!

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  23. I came to congratulate you on the Foodbuzz top 9. But I see other congratulations are in order, so congratz! Your dumplings definitely look and I'm sure taste like winners. Love the color and combination you choose.

    P.S. I too love potatoes and money, but I guess my invite got lost in cyberspace huh? Lol , just kidding :)

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  24. Congratulations for the Foodbuzz Top 9. Your purple potato dumplings look delicious.

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  25. Don here, from the Idaho Potato Commission. All the recipes submitted were outstanding and I loved the creativity, especially when it came to your use of a purple potato. So many times cooks only roast or boil them. Congratulations. I'll bet a lot of your readers never knew that Idaho farmers grew anything besides the Russet Burbank variety, which by the way is named after the scientist Luther Burbank. To see some of the varieties Idaho grows, here is a link:http://directory.idahopotato.com/dir_variety_index.php

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  26. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I would never have believed it! GREG

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  27. Oh WOW!!!!! Congratulations! Gorgeous eye catching photos. Very unique colors and I love how you photo shoot these delicious dumplings. It's beautiful and cute at the same time!

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  28. Congrats! That is an amazing photo and recipe. I love all the bright colored veggies coming out. Very brilliant idea my dear.

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  29. Gorgeous! The color is so striking and I love the sound of gruyere inside the potato dumpling, nice!

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  30. Congratulations! That is a fantastic photo and the pretties dumpling I have ever seen by far! Delightful recipe all around...will whant to try these :)

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  31. Simply beautiful. Will definitely try with some blue Adirondacks!

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  32. Hola! I came to say gracias for being a part of the YBR :) Also that I have been stalking your purple potato dumplings. Lol

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  33. How have I not seen these until now? Gorgeous! And it's no wonder you won best photo -- congratulations! theresa

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  34. Your purple dumpling look so good, even though I've not had this type of dumpling. I always thought dumpling is the wrapped Asian dumpling.. haha. Today I learn something new from YBR

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  35. Congrats, Trix! I've never seen a more brilliant potato - in hue or flavor :)

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  36. This sounds really delicious and something new to try. Thank you for sharing this.

    Simon

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