I Can't Stop Eating These Cheesy Tomato Dumplings!

Today, let's make some cheesy tomato dumplings. Have you ever had these before? I just discovered them recently and I can't stop eating them. They're basically dumplings cooked in a savory tomato gravy. And with tomato season upon us, I can't think of a better comfort food to make. They're quick, easy to make, and really good for you. If you're a pasta lover, then you're really going to enjoy this one. This is good to make if you or your loved ones are picky eaters because you really can't go wrong with this. So sit back, relax, and let's learn how to make cheesy tomato dumplings. We're going to start with a nice large pot or skillet over medium heat. And I'm going to add 1 tbsp of olive oil. Now, here I have an onion, a carrot, and half a red bell pepper. The carrot and pepper are optional ingredients, but they really do add a lot of flavor, color, and more nutrition. So, I like to put them in. Now, I cut my vegetables pretty big, and that's because I'm going to be pureeing this, but you don't have to do that. If you choose to leave your sauce chunky, then I would cut the vegetables a little smaller. I'm going to sweat these off for about a minute or two just to bring out their flavors. And it's a good idea at this point to season them with some salt and pepper. If you want to add a few dried herbs like some basil, oregano, or thyme, feel free to do so. But this is pretty flavorful as it is. After a minute or two of sweating off your vegetables, they should be very aromatic. And now you want to add two cloves of chopped garlic. Garlic can burn very easily, so only add it in at this stage. And just sweat it off for another 30 seconds or so. Now, we need to add some tomatoes. Now, you can use fresh tomatoes or canned, and I'm going to be using both. So, here I have two tomatoes that I chopped fresh. And I also have some canned tomatoes that I did last fall. I'm going to add about three or four, maybe even five of those. They're a little smaller. There's a lot of wiggle room with quantities here. So, if you want to add a little more or less tomato, your recipe is going to turn out great no matter what. Okay, now we have to cover this and let it cook for quite a while until those vegetables are really soft. But because I'm going to be pureeing this in my food processor, I don't want to add too much liquid. However, I do have to add enough liquid to keep it hydrated. If it gets dry on the bottom, then it's going to start to burn. I don't want that to happen. So, every now and then, I am going to be checking it and adding maybe half a cup of water or so. Then, I'm going to cover it again and let it continue to cook. And I'll check it about every 10 minutes just to make sure it doesn't burn at all. While that's cooking, let's make our dumplings. This is so easy. You could do it blindfolded. So, I'm going to start with a cup and a half of allpurpose flour. And to that, I'm going to add a teaspoon of baking powder and half a teaspoon of salt. Mix that together until it's nicely combined and make a well in the center. And now, I'm going to add 2/3 of a cup of milk. But don't add all that milk in just yet. Start with maybe 3/4 of it. You might not need the entire amount or you might end up needing a bit more. My grandma used to make dumplings like this all the time without using a recipe and they always turned out perfect. But I'm not as skilled as she was, so I have to be a bit more careful. Basically, you're looking more for a wet dough rather than a stiff batter. And the consistency I have here is feeling like it might be right. But before I get all that flour fully incorporated, now I'm going to add in my cheddar cheese. And yes, I've cut my cheese into tiny little cubes. You can use grated cheese if you want to, but cutting it not only saves you from having to wash a cheese grater, but it's also going to give your dumplings a little more texture. Now, upon mixing this, I realized that my dumpling dough felt a little bit runny, so I decided to add another tablespoon or two of flour. If you make this too wet, then your dumplings are going to turn out very cakey, which is what you don't want. Dumplings should have a little bit more bite to them. And just that little bit more flour made this perfect. A good way to test if your dumpling dough is the right consistency is when you try to drop a little bit from the spoon, it should take a few seconds for it to fall off. If it falls off the spoon instantly, then the dough is too wet. Add a little more flour. This here is perfect. So now you want to let this rest for five minutes before cooking them. Now let's check on our vegetables. This has been cooking away for 35 minutes. And I can tell that everything is nice and soft. The carrots are kind of mushy and the onions are totally clear. This is ready to be pureed. So I'm going to take my food processor. Of course, you could also use a blender or even one of those immersion blenders, but I have a food processor. I'm going to add this in there and puree it till it's nice and smooth. Now, if you made it this far into the video, I'm going to guess you're enjoying what you're seeing. So, if that's the case, please let me know by hitting that like button. And as always, if you're looking for a printable version of this recipe, you can find it on my blog. I'll link it in the description below. And while you're there, go check out all the other easy, tasty recipes you can make for you and your family. All right, now that this is nice and pureed, let's return it back to the pot. And I don't know about you, but whenever I use the food processor like this, I have to rinse it out with a little bit of water. And now I'm going to add 2 cups of vegetable cocktail. Any type of vegetable juice like V8 or even tomato juice. This is a great ingredient to have around when you're making any type of tomato-based soup or sauce. Now, I'm going to bring this back to a boil. And at this point, you're going to want to taste it for seasoning. So, grab yourself a spoon, give it a little taste. If it needs some salt and pepper, now is the time to add it in. Otherwise, if you're happy with it, now it's time to cook the dumplings. Now, using just a regular large kitchen tablespoon, I'm going to take dollops of that dough and drop it right into the sauce. And it helps to use another tablespoon to do that. You're going to want to start with one in the middle and go all the way around just like a clock. And don't forget to leave about an inch and a half to 2 in of space in between each dumpling cuz they are going to expand as they cook. And depending on how large you make your dollops of dough, you should get anywhere from 12 to 16 dumplings. Now, you'll want to cover this and let it simmer over medium heat for 15 to 18 minutes or until they look something like this. You see how much they grow. You might want to stir them around a little bit to get the outside dumplings into the middle just to make sure they're all thoroughly cooked. But overall, that's all there is to making cheesy tomato dumplings. It's so easy to make and it barely took an hour. You could serve this up as a side dish or I usually just enjoy it on its own. Imagine how good this is going to be when you have your bumper crop of tomatoes waiting to be used up in something. And all those picky eaters in your family that don't like vegetables, they're going to love this. Don't forget to cover these dumplings with a good healthy helping of that wonderful tomato gravy or sauce or soup, whatever you want to call it. Now, you can sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese over this, but I prefer a nice drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Now, just check out how amazingly delicious that looks. All right, and now for my favorite part of the video, tasting it. Now, the texture of these dumplings is absolutely perfect. And I am so glad I added that little extra bit of flour into the dumpling dough. I can taste those little tangy bits of cheddar cheese in there. And that sauce is just bursting with all kinds of flavor. Even though we didn't really add any herbs or spices. If you're a pasta lover, then this one's going to be right up your alley. I really hope you'll give this one a try. And if you do, let me know in the comments how it turned out for you. I love hearing from you all, and I always try to respond to all your comments. Now, if you thought this recipe was really good, then just wait until you check out this super easy onep mac and cheese.