Domplines: Puerto Rican "Dumplings"

This weekend, we’re attending the World Dumpling Fest at the Navy Pier and it made us think about recipes closer to home that would be the Puerto Rican equivalent of a dumpling. The first thing that came to mind were the famous “Domplines” from the Southern town of Ponce. These are not actually stuffed and resemble more of a petite version of the Native American fry bread. Some islanders also know them as arepas and they are commonly served with stewed beans or cod.

Just thinking about them made our mouth water and we had to make a batch for Saturday’s brunch. Lucky for us, anybody can whip up some with 3 simple ingredients. Here’s the recipe.

Puerto Rican Domplines (Serves 2)

• 1 ½ Cups of flour
• 1 ½ Tablespoons of salt
• 1 ½ Tablespoons of cold butter
• ¼ Cup of warm water
• Oil for frying 

Stewed Beans

• 1 Can of pink (rosadas) or pinto beans
• 2 Tablespoons of sofrito*
• ½ Can of small tomato sauce
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
• ¼ Cup of water
• 1 Pinch of salt 

*If you don’t have sofrito handy, mince 1 garlic clove, ¼ cup of onion, and ¼ cup of cilantro.

1. Get the beans cooking first by sauteeing the sofrito in a small pot with the olive oil. After a couple of minutes, add the beans with the water, salt and tomato sauce. Cook for about 10-15 depending on the thickness that you’re looking for. Stir occasionally.

2. Mix the flour with the butter by breaking the cold butter with your hands. Incorporate well until the flour feels sandy.

3. Add the salt and warm water to the flour. Mix well until you get a pizza-like dough. Sprinkle more flour if needed.

4. Form very thin discs and fry in the oil. Serve with the beans.