Chili Crisp Butternut Squash Dumplings in Ginger Soy Broth adapted from Half-Baked Harvest

 This dish made our house smell yummy overnight! I do love Half-Baked Harvest recipes, although some of them are surely a bit high in fat. She has partnered with one of the meal plans, so I am sure she is creating some healthy choices. This one seemed to be and was right up my alley - with lots of Asian flavor and some of my favorite vegetables.

There are three parts to this recipe and any of them can be made earlier in the day to make the meal a bit quicker to assemble and cook: the dumplings, the broth, and the chili crisp. I was able to freeze half of the dumplings (on a cookie sheet in the freezer and then tossing the frozen dumplings in a Ziploc and back in the freezer.) There was broth left, as well, and plenty of the chili crisp sauce. Just make sure that the broth is ready and the chili crisp and sliced scallions are ready when the dumplings are steamed and ready to serve!

I will annotate with my own additions/changes in italics.

The Dumplings

4 cups cubed butternut squash
2 T. EVOO (although I used one of the olive oils I love - Butter)
1 T. curry powder
2 tsp. honey (I used more from our honeybee stash)
2 green onions, chopped
Pepper

24-25 round dumpling or wonton wrappers (I used the small squares and filled 50 dumplings)
1/4 cup sesame seeds

I also added 1 T. Honey-Ginger balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Toss together the cubed squash, oil and vinegar and curry powder. Place the squash on parchment on a baking sheet and bake 25-30 minutes until tender. When cooled, place in a bowls with the green onions, honey and a pinch of pepper. Mash all together. I found that it should be mashed well in order to spoon onto the wrappers in a nice rounded mound.

Assemble the dumplings - I found that separating the wrappers and tossing them in a pile makes the work go faster. Place the wrapper on a flat surface and put a rounded tsp. (I used a coffee scoop) in the middle. Wet the edges of the wrapper, generously. Pinch opposite sides together and then the other opposite sides, closing the wrappers tightly. Dunk the bottoms in water and then dredge the bottoms into sesame seeds. Place on a dry cookie sheet or parchment or cutting board until all dumplings are filled.

Heat some oil (peanut) in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the dumplings and cook until the bottoms are golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Carefully pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup water or chicken stock into the skillet, immediately cover and turn the heat to medium low. Let the dumplings steam for 4-5 minutes. Remove them to a platter.

The Broth

2 T. salted butter or olive oil (I used 1 T. butter-flavored oil and 1 T. peanut oil)
3-4 shallots, sliced
1T. fresh ginger, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 c. white wine (I used a Chardonnay)
4 c. chicken or vegetable broth (4 packets vegetable broth concentrate in hot water)
1/3 cup tamari/soy sauce (I used tamari)
1 cinnamon stick

Melt the butter and shallots over medium-high heat and cook until softened - about 5 minutes. Add the wine, and cook another 5-10 minutes until the shallots have caramelized. Add ginger and garlic and cook one minute. Then add the broth, soy sauce, and cinnamon. Simmer over low heat until you serve.

The Chili Crisp

In a skillet, melt together 6 T. butter with 6 chopped garlic cloves. Cook until butter browns and garlic crisps. Remove from the heat and add 2 T. avocado oil, 2-4 T chili flakes (I used 2), 1 T. sesame seeds, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1/2 tsp. paprika, 1/4 tsp. cayenne, and some salt.  Store in a glass jar. The mixture is not crumbly as I expected but is pourable. 

Place the dumplings in a shallow soup dish and spoon over the broth. Serve with sliced green onions and the chili crisp butter sprinkled over the dumplings.