I have adapted Jamie Oliver’s original recipe and used cupboard ingredients I had, replacing chicken with lamb because that’s what was on special offer this week!
Also, my recipe has more Mediterranean ingredients but I really wanted to try making steamed buns. In the original recipe the buns don’t have a filling, but I have enjoyed filled steamed buns in Chinese restaurants and I wanted to recreate that type of taste and texture.
INGREDIENTS
100 gr braising lamb, cubed
50 gr borlotti beans
5 gr cajun seasoning
5 gr vegetable bouillon powder
50 gr Kalamata olives
50 gr tomato passata
5 gr Cayenne pepper
For the buns:
7 tablespoons self-raising flour (about 120 gr)
5 tablespoons soya milk or semi-skimmed milk (about 80 gr)
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of sugar
oil for greasing
Jamie Oliver’s recipe called for 1 tin of low fat coconut milk – he used the can as a measuring jug to add the self-raising flour (2 x cans of flour for 1 can of coconut milk)
METHOD
For the filling: in a pan on a low heat add the lamb, olives, tomatoes, beans, Cayenne, bouillon and cook for 2 hours until tender.
For the dumplings: mix the self-raising flour with the soya milk and a pinch of salt. Knead until the mixture is not sticky and form 4 balls the size of tennis balls.
Assembly: get 2 fairy cake cases (paper cases) per dumpling, lightly grease them with oil. Get one ball of dough and hollow it in the middle, placing 1 teaspoon of lamb filling in the centre. Fold the rim of the dough around the filling and place into the paper cups.
Cooking: use a steamer or put a steaming basket over a pan of boiling water. Cook for 15 minutes (or 20 minutes if the dough still feels uncooked at the touch).