Comforting dishes tend to be heavy and it’s always my mission to lighten a heavy dish up so that I can still feel great after eating it. Such is the case with this soup.

I am absolutely in love with these dumplings. They are tender, airy and not doughy or leaden. Chicken broth and butter give them so much flavor. It’s a recipe from Food network TV host, Alton Brown, who I think is brilliant. I enjoy watching his shows because I learn so much about food and different cooking techniques. My favorite kind of cooking shows are when I can learn ways to implement ingredients and concepts into my own kitchen.

The soup is my own variation of chicken soup that I think complements the dumplings so well.

Yields: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced into ¼ inch circles

2-3 celery ribs, sliced into ¼ inch pieces also

1 large onion, finely chopped

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tablespoons flour

1-2 sprigs of thyme, minced

2 Tablespoons white wine

2 quarts chicken broth (For a recipe of Homemade Chicken Broth click here)

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in pot over medium heat, add onions, season with salt and cook until soft, 3-5 min. Add carrots and celery, season with salt cook until soft, about another 3 min. Add garlic and thyme, cook until fragrant, about 1 min. Stir in the flour and cook for about 3 min, until all the flour is incorporated into the vegetables. Whisk in the  wine and the chicken broth. Simmer until the carrots are cooked through. Discard the thyme sprigs.

Dumplings:

I like a lot of dumplings in this soup. If you like your soups on the thinner side, halve the recipe.

1 cup chicken broth

6 Tbsp butter

1 tsp salt

1 cup flour

4 eggs

Bring broth, butter and salt to a boil.  As soon as it boils, add the flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture starts to come together, approximately 1 min.  Decrease the heat to low and continue stirring until mixture forms a ball and is no longer sticky, approximately 3 min.  Transfer to a bowl and mix for 3-5 min, until it’s no longer steaming.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Place the dumpling dough into a ziplock bag and snip off a corner. Bring the soup to a slight simmer over medium heat. Pipe the mixture and cut about 1 1/2 inch in length with scissors directly over broth, making sure that the soup is simmering the whole time.

If the dumplings start to stick together, gently shake the pot and as the broth washes over the dumplings it will jostle them free and prevent them from sticking together.

Cook, covered, until the dumplings are cooked through, about 8-10 min. Turn off the heat, add meat and garnish with fresh parsley.

I usually have chicken broth in the freezer that I can use. Before I start cooking the soup, I place 2-4 chicken drumsticks in a small pot with 1 small onion, 1 smashed garlic clove, 1 dry bay leaf and 3 peppercorns and cover it with water. Season to taste with salt. Cook, skimming off the impurities from the top until the chicken is cooked through. Take the meat off the bone and add to the soup at the end. I also strain the broth and add it to the soup.  You can also make broth from scratch but you will need to cook it longer, so the flavor is more concentrated. Also,when I replenish my chicken broth supply, I reserve the meat and the amount of broth that I need and proceed with the rest of the recipe.

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

55 mins

 

Ingredients

Soup:

• 3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced into ¼ inch circles
• 2-3 celery ribs, sliced into ¼ inch pieces also
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1-2 sprigs of thyme, minced
• 2 Tablespoons white wine
• 2 quarts chicken broth (For a recipe of Homemade Chicken Broth click here)
• 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

Dumplings:

• 1 cup chicken broth
• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup flour
• 4 eggs

Instructions

Soup:

1. Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in pot over medium heat, add onions, season with salt and cook until soft, 3-5 min.
2. Add carrots and celery, season with salt cook until soft, about another 3 min.
3. Add garlic and thyme, cook until fragrant, about 1 min.
4. Stir in the flour and cook for about 3 min, until all the flour is incorporated into the vegetables.
5. Whisk in the wine and the chicken broth.
6. Simmer until the carrots are cooked through. Discard the thyme sprigs.

Dumplings:

1. Bring broth, butter and salt to a boil.
2. As soon as it boils, add the flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture starts to come together, approximately 1 min.
3. Decrease the heat to low and continue stirring until mixture forms a ball and is no longer sticky, approximately 3 min.
4. Transfer to a bowl and mix for 3-5 min, until it’s no longer steaming.
5. Add eggs, one at a time.
6. Place the dumpling dough into a ziplock bag and snip off a corner.
7. Bring the soup to a slight simmer over medium heat.
8. Pipe the mixture and cut about 1½ inch in length with scissors directly over broth, making sure that the soup is simmering the whole time.
9. Cook, covered, until the dumplings are cooked through, about 8-10 min.
10. Turn off the heat, add meat and garnish with fresh parsley.

3.1.09

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