Aviandrian-ish Recipe–Fruit Dumplings

I love thinking about the food in Aviandria. It’s interesting to see what kind of things I eat here that might overlap with Aviandrian cuisine. This recipe is an old family recipe of mine, and it seems like something that they could have in Aviandria. It was a favorite of my grandpa, who grew up on a farm during the Great Depression. It’s a lot like chicken and dumplings, but fruity instead of, well, chickeney. There would have to be a few differences for it to be Aviandrian (for example, canned or bottled fruit would be harder to come by in Aviandria, but they could improvise with cooking some fresh fruit to use, or they might rehydrate some dried fruit and mix in some preserves) but the purpose of these recipes aren’t to be exactly Aviandrian. Just Aviandrian-ish. But anyhow, either way, these are really good.

Fruit Dumplings

Start with 1 quart of home-canned fruit or 29-32 oz commercially canned fruit (peaches, cherries, strawberries, plums, pineapple and mandarin orange mix, raspberries, apricots, blueberries all work fine for this. You can try adding 3 Tbsp lime Jell-O powder to pears or orange Jell-O to apricots to make them interesting.) My favorite growing up was bottled cherries, but peaches are really good too. I’ve used frozen fruit with added sugar and water too. If you do this, make sure you add plenty of water, because it takes more liquid than you might think.

Pour this juice and all into a small-medium pan with a lid ( a frying pan works well if you have a large one with a lid.) Heat over medium heat while you make the biscuit top below.

Biscuit top

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbsps. Sugar

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

2 ½ Tbsp butter, shortening, or coconut oil

1 Egg (or 1 tsp ground flaxseed in 2 Tbsp water if you don’t want to use egg)

½ cup + 1 tablespoon milk

In a medium bowl; mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the fat until the mixture resembles crumbs. Mix egg or egg substitute with milk. Combine with dry ingredients until moist.  When the fruit starts to boil, spoon the biscuit mixture on top a spoonful at a time. Cover and reduce heat so that it is simmering, but not rapidly boiling or it will scorch. Simmer 10 minutes. Remove lid and simmer for 10 more minutes. Serve warm with milk, cream, or vanilla yogurt. We like a sprinkle of nutmeg on top.

Milk and eggs may be substituted for vegan alternatives.

*This can be cooked over a rocket stove or camp stove if you want a more Aviandrian feel. It could also be cooked in a small Dutch oven and not uncovered for the whole 20 minutes.