Monday, December 28, 2015

Chicken Dumpling Soup

For the Soup:
  • 1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast 
  • 1 large onion, peeled and diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced
  • 4 carrots, thinly sliced
  • 1 half stick (4 tbsp.) butter
  • 1 tsp. ground mustard 
  • 1/8 tsp ground turmeric (for color)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 64 oz. low-sodium chicken stock
  • Pepper to taste
Dumplings:
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 3 Tb. grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 Tb fresh thyme leaves, finely minced
  • 1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary, finely minced
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. ground pepper
  • 3/4 cup whole milk

  1. In a large sauce pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Cook for 8–10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
  2. Add the mustard, turmeric, bay leaf and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Then cover, lower the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.
  3. Put the ingredients for the dumplings in a medium bowl. Mix with a fork until a wet doughy consistency is reached.
  4. Once the soup base has cooked down for 15 minutes, bring the temperature back up to a boil. Stir in the chicken. Then use a spoon to drop scant 1/2-teaspoon lumps of dough into the soup. Simmer 5 minutes, until the chicken and dumplings are cooked through.

I had so much fun making this! I usually stick to my tried and true chicken noodle soup recipe that my grandfather taught me as a kid, but this gave that a run for it's money. 

I was hesitant about adding mustard at first, but after the first bite, I was converted to a mustard believer! The flavor of the mustard paired SO WELL with the chicken and the garlic. 

Changes:
-Instead of cooking and cubing chicken breasts, I ended up just buying a whole roast chicken. This enhanced the flavor of the soup even more. It was also nice to have leftover wings, legs and thighs for later. 

-I ended up using 32oz of regular sodium chicken stock, Zoup brand, and then 32oz of Zingerman's unsalted chicken stock. This required some of my own "salt to taste" measures, but I liked that it gave me more control over what I wanted. 

-I'd probably add more carrot next time, just because I like carrot. 

-This was my first time making dumplings and I was pretty nervous about it. I was also hesitant about the cheese in the dumplings, but it was great! The fresh thyme and fresh rosemary were definitely essential, I don't see this turning out as well if I would have used dried spices instead. 

Adapted from: http://goo.gl/FK7qPk