Origami Dumplings with Roasted Carrot and Pork

Preparation

Mix Dough

Pour flour from each color into separate piles on a work surface and create a medium sized well in the middle of each. Boil water, then pour 3/4 cup into each well. For orange dough, add tomato paste into one of the piles of flour. Mix each color separately using chopsticks, slowly incorporating flour from the outer edges of the well until each colored dough becomes a thick paste. With one color, use hands to incorporate the rest of the flour and begin the kneading the dough (it'll be messy to begin with) until it becomes becomes smooth and the surface is uniform, around 10 minutes. When you press into the dough and it bounces back a little, you know it's done. Repeat the same process with the second color. When ready, wrap both dough babies in separate plastic wraps and let them proof for about 1 hour.

Prep Carrots

While the dough is proofing, preheat your oven to 400°F. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, oil your carrots with olive oil, season with salt, and place in the oven for 20 minutes until soft and can be pierced through easily with a fork.

Make Filling

When the carrots are ready, remove from oven and place into a bowl. With a fork, mash carrots until it has small, even chunks. Combine carrots with remaining filling ingredients and with your hands, mix all that juicy meat mixture goodness together. Use a circular motion with your fingers until the filling looks homogenous and sticky, about 3 minutes.

Make Wrappers

Lightly dust a work surface with flour. When your dough is ready, take out each from the plastic wrap and cut in half. Use your fingers and create a rough rectangle with your two orange and two white halves into the size of a 3x5 index card (it doesn't have to be exact) and put dough through your pasta machine at the lowest setting. Take your flattened rectangles and fold each into thirds, use your fingers again to create same rough 3x5 rectangle shape once again (the Italian grandmas say this step improves the texture/elasticity of the dough so I happily oblige). Put your dough rectangles through the pasta machine at its lowest setting.

Increase the pasta machine setting by one, then run your flattened pasta dough through again. Repeat this step, increasing the setting by one and running your dough through until you're at the 5th or 6th setting of your pasta machine (depending on how thick or thin you like your wrappers). Every machine is different but the dough should be about the thinness of an index card.

To create a two toned wrapper, combine a white sheet with an orange sheet and run it through the pasta machine starting at 3, and again running it through 4, and then up to 5 to bind the two colors. Repeat this with the rest of your orange and white sheets.

Generously dust your dumpling wrappers with flour on both sides of your dough. Take a 3.5 inch round cookie cutter and firmly press and twist on your sheet of dough to cut out individual wrappers.

Assemble Dumplings

Place a small dab of meat (about a third of the size of the wrapper) into the middle. Create four small creases towards the center so that the circular wrapper becomes a square.

Then flip the wrapper so that the creases are facing down. Place a small dab of meat (about a third of the size of the wrapper) into the middle. Take two opposite corners and touch them in the middle, then seal the dumpling. Repeat until you run out of wrappers or filling.

Cook Dumplings

If Steam-Frying — Add generous dab of vegetable oil and place dumplings bottoms down and fry on medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of water and place a lid on top (add water quickly to avoid too much splattering) and steam for 5-6 minutes on medium high heat. If water evaporates before 5 minutes, add a little bit more. Once the water has evaporated at the 5-6 minute mark, give the pan a little shake and stir to give the dumplings an even browning, then take dumplings out to serve.

If Boiling — Place dumplings in a pot of boiling water. Let sit for a couple minutes until the water is boiling again. Pour a 1/2 cup of cold water into the pot to settle the boiling water back down (this will allow the filling to cook without having the wrappers break apart) Wait again until the water is boiling and dumpling start to float. Your dumplings should be ready to eat on the second boil (check one to make sure filling is cooked). If not just add another 1/2 cup of water and repeat process until dumplings are floating and water is boiling. Fetch those little guys out with a strainer to serve.