Apple Sausage Gravy Dumplings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 pound pork sausage
• 0.5 large yellow onion
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 0.25 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 large apple
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 0.5 cups milk
• ground black pepper
• cayenne pepper
• 0.25 cups green onions
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and add sausage. Cook and stir, breaking up chunks with a spatula, until browned and crumbly, about 5 minutes.

2. 2

   Reduce heat to medium, add onions and a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring, until onions start to turn soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

3. 3

   Stir in butter, and once melted, add flour. Cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add diced apple, and cook, stirring for another minute or so.

4. 4

   Pour in chicken broth, raise heat to high, and stir with a spoon, scraping up all the browned bits (fond) from the bottom. Add milk and bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to between medium and medium-low, and simmer for about 15 minutes. For thicker gravy, mixture can be reduced further. Reduce heat to medium-low and prepare dumpling batter.

5. 5

   Combine egg, cider, creme fraiche, thyme, 2 tablespoons green onions, 1 teaspoon salt, and baking powder in a bowl and whisk thoroughly. Add 1 cup flour and whisk just until flour disappears. Clean off whisk with a spatula, and scrape down the sides of the bowl, mixing in any visible flour. Set batter aside until needed.

6. 6

   Stir gravy and taste for seasoning—add more salt if needed, plus freshly ground black pepper, cayenne, 1/4 cup green onions, and 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar.

7. 7

   Raise heat to medium, and transfer generous, rounded teaspoons of dumpling batter on top of the simmering gravy.

8. 8

   Cover, and let cook, untouched, until dumplings are puffed up, and floating on top, 5 to 6 minutes. A skewer inserted into the center of a dumpling should come out clean. Serve immediately topped with additional green onions if desired.