A fricassée with dumplings brimming with fresh green flavours designed to be both quick and ideal for mixed groups of diners—vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters at the same table—with the minimum of effort to accommodate all needs in one meal.
Fast & fiore
This dish isn't a true fricassée, but it's probably the most accurate description in terms of cooking method. The recipe dates from a time when I was cooking regularly for mixed groups of friends and family—veggies, vegans, carnivores, kid and adults, all at once. I wanted to develop a dish that could be pulled together with the minimum of fuss to cater to everyone eating roughly the same dish. Here is the result, but now with a wonderful recent adaptation.
Years ago, when I first came up with this dish, the lead herb flavours I used were a combination of fennel seeds (1tsp), dried oregano (also used here) and generous clutches of fresh basil and fresh oregano instead of what's in the recipe below. And, indeed, they work wonderfully.
But, a little while back, my brother-in-law Karel sent me a bottle of fiore de finocchio. It's wild fennel flowers and their pollen harvested before the seeds form, sun dried and hand-rolled into a rough powder. It's particularly prized in the Chianti region of Tuscany where it's eagerly harvested. It has a unique and complex flavour; that aniseed note we associate with fennel but also a wonderfully delicate sweetness. If using it, don't be tempted to overdo it: this is a powerful herb where it's definitely a case of "less is more". While it is fantastic with meat—which is how it is most commonly used—I really love it in vegetable dishes or those in which meat or fish are used sparingly. So, I couldn't wait to try it in this dish.
That said, if you find it difficult to get your hands on it—it generally is because it's only ever harvested seasonally in relatively small quantities and eagerly snapped up by the Tuscans—try the original version of the dish substituting the herbs listed above. You won't be disappointed.
This light stew borrows liberally as much from the Italian tradition of the stufato and the Flemish stoofpot as it does from the classic French fricassée, though, like the Gallic classic, it cooks in under an hour rather than the slow cooking required for many forms of stew. However, this dish is a lot lighter than many of those dishes, making it ideal for spring and summer. Of course, you can add cream in the manner of a true fricassée and it's certainly delicious, but I tend to only do that when I cook it in the autumn or winter months.
Another recent experiment—you'll notice tiny white flecks in some of the pictures—is to knead a little chèvre into a small amount of excess dumpling dough and then allow it to dry out, covered, out of the fridge, for two days. I then grated it very finely with a garlic grater into the re-heating stew as I was preparing it for an al fresco lunch today. Delicious. Definitely worth trying, but a bit of a palaver given that it needs to be dried, probably for at least 48 hours.
Swings & roundabouts
In terms of the sausages, the choice is yours. I've opted for British pork sausages made with sage and bitter Bramley apples here, mainly because I don't want to overshadow the delicate flavour of the fiore di finocchio and want to pick up the apple in the cider. However, when making the alternative version with basil and oregano as the lead flavours, I tend to favour Italian sausages more heavily seasoned with garlic, fennel and oregano. And, I have also found it delicious with Polish smoked sausage, particularly in the heavier winter versions.
The reason I sauté the mushrooms separately before adding back into the stew once cooked is purely to do with colour. Adding the mushrooms directly into the mix of sautéing ingredients—just before adding the leeks—makes the sauce turn a darker, light brown colour. If you aren't as eager to keep the green colour of this fricassée as I am, there's no reason you shouldn't do that. And, if green colour is your primary driver, you can leave out the turmeric, which gives it a bit of a golden tinge, but I think you'd be missing out because it really does impact on the end flavour.
I have cooked this dish with white wine instead of clear apple cider on numerous occasions. Indeed, it is very nice. However, I am vehemently of the view that the apple flavours in the clear cider definitely bring the freshness in this dish to the fore. In fact, on the occasions that I experimented using a cup of clear apple juice and 3 tbspns of cider vinegar when cooking for people who could not have no alcohol—even though it cooks off—for deeply held belief reasons, I thought even this produced a better result than wine.
The method that I'm using here to rehydrate the sausage in a little sauce before adding back into the pot is something I developed when cooking the same meal for meat eaters and vegetarians. If you are cooking only for carnivorous diners, it's an unnecessary step. Simply return the sausage slices to the pot about 5mins before the dumplings are ready.
This recipe is for 2 to 3 diners but can easily be scaled up for larger groups. NB: the images illustrating it here are not 100% indicative of quantities since I have scaled it down a little.
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Shopping list
for the green fricassée with herb dumplings
2 medium brown onions, chopped
2 large carrots, sliced
3 sticks of celery, sliced
1 large red or yellow bell pepper, cubed
100g small closed cup mushrooms, halved
Approx. 3 tbspns virgin olive oil
300ml chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
4 sausages of choice (optional)
1 heaped tspn fiore di finocchio
300ml clear apple cider
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, sliced and slightly crushed
3 green cardamom pods
3 fresh bay leaves
1 tspn dried oregano
½ a tspn of turmeric powder
1 tbspn of mushroom ketchup (or Worcestershire sauce)
Approx. 1 tbspn plain white flour
salt and black pepper
150ml single cream (optional)
the dumplings
200g plain white flour
120g butter (or full-fat margarine or vegetable suet)
1 tspn baking powder
a little water—approx. 3 or 4 tbspns
A generous clutch of flat leaf parsley (or coriander)
2 spring onions (or a clasp of chives)
salt and black pepper
for the salad
wild rocket
baby plum tomatoes, halved or sliced
dried peperoncino flakes (optional)
sliced spring onion (optional)
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
Cooking method
the dumplings
You can make the dumplings before you start cooking, or you can make them while the stew is simmering during the first half of the cooking—they don't take long to make and don't need to rest in the way some doughs do. Chop the flat leaf parsley, spring onions (including most of the green part) and about a third of one of the celery sticks using a mini-chopper or manually, but they do need to be finely chopped
Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, add the baking powder and work in the butter (or alternative) with clean fingers until you end up with what looks like dry "crumbs. Season liberally with salt and black pepper
Add the water—no more than a tbspn at a time—and work in until a cohesive, reasonably moist dough
Using your hand, squeeze as much of the moisture out of the chopped herb and spring onion mix as possible. Fold into the dough until evenly distributed. Using wet hands, break the dough and roll into about 10 equally sized balls—or larger if you prefer. The main thing to take into account is that they will swell to approximately twice their uncooked size and you want to cook them without touching each other in the pot. Place to one side until cooking
the fricassée
Cook the sausages in your preferred manner. I prefer to dry roast them on a non-stick baking tray in a halogen oven, but you can grill or fry them in a dab of oil if preferred; until their skin is notably browned. Slice as soon as cool enough to handle. Sauté the mushrooms until cooked. Place to one side.
In a large, deep pot with a lid, heat the oil on a medium heat. Add the onions, cover and sweat. As soon as the onions begin to soften, add the celery and stir in. Re-cover and sweat for 5 mins, adding the garlic about halfway through, stirring intermittently to prevent sticking if necessary
As soon as the celery appears a little glassy, add the bell pepper and stir in, and a splash of stock if things appear to be sticking. Re-cover and sauté for another 5mins or so. Add the sliced leeks and stir in. Season with salt and black pepper. Re-cover and sweat a little longer—the leeks should only take about 3 or 4mins to soften— stirring occasionally if necessary
When the contents of the pot have softened—don't wait for the onions to brown—add the green cardamom pods and sprinkle the turmeric and fiore di finocchio over the top of the ingredients. Leave to settle for a moment—until you smell the aromas being released. Then, add half of the stock and half of the cider. Stir gently but thoroughly as you bring it to a hearty simmer, adding the bay leaves. Simmer for 3mins or so, then add the sliced carrots. Add the remainder of the stock and cider and stir in. If necessary, add additional boiling water—you want to ensure the ingredients are fully covered by the liquid—and briefly bring to a hearty simmer. Then cover and reduce to a low-medium heat so that the contents are simmering very gently. Simmer for 10mins, stirring occasionally
Add the mushrooms and mushroom ketchup to the pot and stir in. Sprinkle in the spoon of flour and stir in to aid thickening. Ensure any "clots" of flour are broken up. As soon as the flour is fully assimilated, re-cover and simmer for a further 5min.
NB: at this point, if cooking for a mixed group of dinners, spoon out a little of the sauce—4 or 5 tbspns—and a small amount of the onions, leeks and celery and pour over the sliced sausage in a small pan and place to one side
Stir thoroughly then lower the dumplings into the pot, ensuring they're not touching each other. If the sauce has reduced too rapidly, add a little more boiling water to the pot—you want to ensure that the dumplings are at least two thirds submerged. Re-cover and simmer for 20mins, occasionally stirring very gently. Uncover and slightly increase the heat, simmering for a further 5mins, reducing the liquid and allowing the top of the dumplings to develop a dry hint of a "crust". At the same time, gently reheat the the sausage slices, sautéing them in minimal sauce
Gently remove the dumplings and plate. (If using the cream, pour in and thoroughly mix in, allowing the sauce to thicken for a few mins.) Plate all of your portions for vegetarian and vegan diners. Add the hot sausage slices back into the pot and stir in. Allow them to integrate briefly, then plate for the meat eaters
Take to table with the simple salad
Alternatives
Although this version includes sausage, this dish was literally designed to be a quick, (almost) one pot dish that could be adapted in situ to feed vegans, vegetarians and carnivores at the same table.
For vegans and vegetarians, things are easily managed. For example, many of the firmer vegetarian sausages out there—such as Quorn sausages—work perfectly well, cooked in the same manner as the meat ones here. But, I have often opted to use two types of mushrooms instead: adding the small closed cup variety exactly as in the recipe above; and then adding pre-sautéed thick slices of portobello mushrooms or whole chanterelles at the point the sausages are added back into the stew.
Where the dumplings are concerned, widely available vegetable suet is not only a great alternative to butter, but preferable in many ways and I will always use it as first choice if it's to hand. In a pinch, full-fat margarine also works but is does need to be full-fat.
Obviously the cream is off-limits for vegans—I can't comment on plant-based alternatives because I've never cooked with them in this dish—but then again, I never add the cream except in the colder months.
I've not made pescatarian versions that often, but poached cod and seared salmon added at the end of the cooking worked very well. Now all I need to do is to see if my suspicion that pan searing cod or hake seasoned with a little fiore di finocchio will be even better.
Pairings
On this occasion I'm having it with a cold, refreshing non-alcoholic apple schorle with a dab of lemon juice and some infused fresh mint. Perfect.
For obvious reasons, it works very well with cold apple ciders such as Cornish Orchards Golden Cider, Bulmers Original Cider (which I used in the cooking here) or the wonderfully dry Cidre Ruwet from Belgium. Overall, I think a cold cider is the best pairing on a warm day.
This is another one of those dishes that, although it contains sausage, its green, fresh flavours definitely make me lean towards whites or a rosé ahead of red wines. Two whites I distinctly remember working well are Cave de Lugny Mâcon-Lugny Les Charmes (can't remember what year) and a Trimbach Pinot Gris Alsace Réserve 2018. It's also worked well with a range of rieslings I can't specifically remember and goes well with any number of wines with apple and wildflower notes for obvious reasons. It was also great with a Georg Breuer GB Spätburgunder Rosé 2019.
While I definitely have had it with red wines, especially when I done the version with cream, and a more heavily seasoned sausage, it's notable that I can't remember any of them specifically. Who can tell if that was simply the choice of the wines or whether, somehow, reds just don't work as well with all these green, fresh flavours? All suggestions welcome.
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