The Princess's Plate by Ali Berkley Margo
Ringing in the holidays with a little MOMO Madness
by Ali Berkley Margo
IT’S HARD TO SWALLOW THE FACT THAT MY HUSBAND IS A BETTER COOK THAN ME. Don’t get me wrong: he’s nice about it. Whenever I cook diner he’ll eat every bite and say, “It’s good, honey,” but only when I ask, “How is it?” first.
The problem is, as soon as he’s done eating he’ll get up and cook something else—usually something that suits his Midwestern, Minnesotan born-and-bred palate, like sausage and eggs or what he likes to call “poor man’s French toast” which is toast and butter drenched in maple syrup. It’s painful to watch.
It’s true I prefer healthier dishes that maybe don’t satisfy his larger-than-life appetite. But when he gets in the kitchen, I can see why he’s not blown away by my skills. In more ways than one, he’s a tough act to follow.
Never was that more true than over the holidays, when I had one failed baking attempt after another. (Yes, that was after I wrote about how horrible I am at baking in the last blog, so thanks for paying attention). But ever since I got married I’ve had an almost demented desire to put on an apron and get flour all over it. Plus, I love the way it makes the house smell.
After giving me the morning to make my little mess, Ryan took over the afternoon. We go the idea to make Momos, Nepalese dumplings we discovered at the Pine Creek Cookhouse for a Christmas dinner party we were to attend that night. A backcountry restaurant deep in the mountains just outside Aspen, the Pine Creek Cookhouse is only accessible by cross-country ski and snowshoe trails (or, if you want to throw down the dough, a horse-drawn sleigh). The reward for the effort it takes to get there is always that first dish of Momos, ordered as an appetizer and served fresh and hot with a spicy tomato dipping sauce. Nothing warms the toes and the belly like this rich, spicy, dish, seasoned with herbs from another mountainous land on the other side of the world. Still, nothing is lost in its translation.
Our other inspiration was the several pounds of ground elk that reside in our freezer, elk that my husband hunted for himself out in the woods. We figured elk, buffalo, what’s the difference? And we were right. We’ve found almost any beef recipe can be substituted with elk, and this is no exception.
What impressed me the most was Ryan made the dough for the dumplings from scratch. It’s as simple as mixing equal parts water and flour and forming it into a ball and letting it sit for 30 minutes. The meat mixture included a fragrant combination of Indian spices like curry, turmeric, nutmeg, cilantro, ginger, coriander, red onion, green onion, and radishes. The fun part was rolling out and forming the dough. Ryan did the rolling and I did the stuffing and folding. I even put little fork marks around the edges to make it look all fancy and professional and real.
I improvised on the dipping sauce since we did not have all the ingredients the recipe for Hot Tomato Achar, the sauce that looked closest to what we’ve had at PCC called for. The recipe was also fairly involved and time consuming so I had no choice but to come up with a quicker fix. I basically threw what tomatoes we had left into a blender with green onions, garlic, soy sauce, and vinegar. The mixture was too liquidy and too sour so I added ketchup (cheating, I know) and some raspberry jalapeño chipotle jam we bought on a recent trip to Santa Fe. That helped thicken it up, but it was still too sour, so I added a couple tablespoons of sugar and that did the trick. I’m pretty sure that’s what they’re talking about when they say “season to taste.”
We steamed them in a bamboo steamer for 15 minutes. Served as an appetizer for a Christmas dinner at a friend’s house in Aspen, the momos were a huge hit. The texture of the dumplings was perfect—not to thick or sticky, but still gooey and steamy and warm. The meat mixture was aromatic and a taste of the Far East. Combined with the sauce, it hit every note: sour, sweet, savory and spicy. The flavors lingered long enough to be accounted for.
The best part is they freeze easily and we gave our hosts a bag full as a little parting gift and kept another batch for ourselves. They don’t even need to be defrosted. Just throw them over some hot water and steam.
We realize we’re pretty unconventional and balking tradition with this dish on a serious holiday like Christmas, but from now on, we’re replacing Ho Ho Ho with a little Momo-mo.
Have you ever tried to make dumplings from scratch? Please post your recipes and comments here.
View Momo Recipe