Ingredients

100g Hederman’s Hot Smoked Irish Salmon with Chillies

1 medium onion

1 carrot Vegetable oil

250g chestnut or white mushrooms (wild mushrooms in season would also be excellent)

60g fresh ginger (about 2 inches)

800ml water Soy sauce

1 pack of 25 dumpling wrappers (allowed to thaw out overnight in the fridge)

2 scallions

1 small bunch kale

1 small bunch of wild garlic (if out of season substitute with 1 extra scallion and 1 clove of fresh garlic)

1 egg

1 lemon Salt and pepper Flour for dusting Coriander, wild garlic and sliced scallion for garnishing

Methodology

FOR THE BROTH


Reserve 50g of the mushrooms and set aside. Dice the remaining mushrooms and carrot finely.

Keeping the skin on the onion (this adds colour and flavour) roughly chop and add to 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed pan.

Cook over a medium high heat with a pinch of salt until very well browned around the edges and cooked through. This should take around 10 minutes.

Add the chopped mushrooms and carrot and continue to cook on a medium high heat until any water has evaporated and the mushrooms are browned and soft. This should take around 10 minutes.

Grate half of the ginger, add to the pan and stir fry for 1 minute.

Add the water and lower the heat to a simmer. Cover with a lid and allow to cook down for 30 minutes – or even longer for a deeper flavour.

Slice the reserved mushrooms and fry in vegetable oil on a high heat until browned and cooked through. Finish with a splash of soy sauce and set aside for garnishing.

Strain the broth and discard the vegetables. Add a handful of sliced wild garlic to the broth and check for seasoning.



FOR THE DUMPLINGS


Finely chop the scallion, kale, wild garlic, remaining ginger and salmon and mix together in a bowl.

Add the zest of the lemon and season very lightly. Check for seasoning before breaking the egg into the mix and stirring thoroughly.

Filling the dumplings is next. As you work through the dumpling wrappers keep them covered with a slightly damp tea towel.

Taking a pastry brush and some water. wet one half of the wrapper very lightly.

Add 1 heaped teaspoon of filling to the middle of the circle.

Now the tricky bit! Taking the dumpling in one hand bring together each edge gently and pinch at the centre point. Then going from the centre out, use your thumb and fore finger to gather and fold the edges together on one side and then on the other and seal. Take your time to make sure there is no excess air around the filling.

Set the completed dumpling on a flour dusted tray as you work through the rest.

When they are all folded add the dumplings to a lined bamboo steamer basket. Alternatively, steam in an electric steamer or you could very gently poach them in batches in simmering water.

Slice some scallions and wild garlic and arrange with some coriander and the fried mushroom slices in bowls for garnishing.

Heat a few inches of water in a pan until simmering and place the bamboo steamer on top. Cook the dumplings for 10 minutes. They should look translucent and soft.

Reheat the broth and warm your serving bowls. Serve the hot broth in bowls with the basket of dumplings, more soy sauce and garnishes on the side.