Wagyu beef manti

I’d always wanted to learn how to make these Turkish dumplings, so I was rapt when I got to learn it from a group of women in Cappadocia who had been making them for generations. It’s not something I would make every day but I’m thrilled I got the chance to learn. What makes this version a little different from the others is that they’re served in a soupy base. They’re pretty time consuming to prepare, so rope in the friends or the kids and let them work for their supper!

• serves

  4

• prep

  1:30 hour

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 150 g unsalted butter
• 100 g sucuk, diced (see Note)
• 100 g pickled baby onions, peeled and left whole
• 100 g raw peas
• 2 tbsp biber salçasi (Turkish red capsicum paste)
• 10 mint leaves, torn

Manti dough

• 250 g ‘00’ flour
• 125 ml (½ cup) water
• 1 egg
• pinch of salt

Filling

• 100 g minced Wagyu
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• pinch of red pul biber (Aleppo pepper)

Garlic yoghurt

• 200 g natural yoghurt
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• pinch of salt

Resting time 30 minutes

Instructions

To make the manti dough, place all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Knead on low speed for 3-6 minutes or until a smooth dough is formed. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, combine all the ingredients and refrigerate until required.

To make the garlic yoghurt, combine all the ingredients and refrigerate until required.   

To assemble the manti, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until 2 mm-thick, then cut into 1.5 cm squares. Place a tiny amount of filling in the middle of each square, bring up all 4 edges to make a diamond shape, then pinch the edges to seal them shut. Place on a lightly floured tray.  (These can be frozen ahead of time if you want to prep them earlier – just place on a baking paper lined tray in a single layer and freeze, then transfer to zip lock bags and freeze for up to 3 months.

Drop the manti, in batches, into a large saucepan of lightly salted boiling water. Cook for 2-4 minutes or until they float to the surface.

While the manti are cooking, melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat until foamy and just starting to turn a nutty brown. Add the pul biber and sucuk and cook until golden, then add the peas and baby pickled cocktail onions. Combine the biber salçasi in a separate bowl with 2 tablespoons of the cooking water. Add the mixture back into the pan with the simmering manti to help infuse the flavour into the dumpling. As soon as the manti are ready, remove with a slotted spoon, add to the frying pan with 1 cup of the cooking liquid and simmer over high heat for 2 minutes or until the liquid has reduced slightly.  

To serve, spoon the manti into shallow bowls, top with torn mint leaves and a dollop of garlic yoghurt and serve immediately.

Note

• Sucuk, pronounced sujuk, is a cured, heavily spiced Turkish beef sausage. Available from Middle Eastern food shops and select butchers.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.