Chicken & Dumpling Soup



A few weeks ago, my son came down with a nasty cold that rapidly spread to the entire family.  While we were all lying around sniffling and coughing, dinner was the furthest thing from my mind.  

But I had a chicken in the refrigerator that needed to be cooked and my husband looked at me pitifully and asked if I could please make him some soup.  Since everyone knows that chicken noodle soup is that cure for a nasty cold, I obliged (I’m such a fabulous wife!)

I am so glad that I ended up making this soup!  It absolutely hit the spot (and we felt a lot better than we would have had we eaten fast food).  I highly recommend a big bowl of this soup next time you are under the weather.


Recipe Notes:
*Always bring the water to a boil before adding the chicken (or any other meat) to a soup.  This will keep the broth clear.  Adding the meat first results in a cloudy broth.
*In the recipe, I’ve added “vegetable scraps” as an ingredient.  Use whatever you have on hand (I keep a bag of scraps in my freezer), but do note that vegetables like beets and mushrooms will change the color of your soup and tomatoes will change the taste.
*If you like your dumplings to be a uniform size, roll the dough out to about 1/8 inch thick and cut into small squares with a pizza cutter.

Chicken & Dumpling Soup

Stock
2 quarts (8 cups) of water
1 whole chicken (without giblets)
1-2 carrots
1 onion
Vegetables or vegetable scraps
          (I had several withered carrots, a turnip, a broccoli stem and half an onion)
3 whole black peppercorns
½ - 1 tbsp sea salt

Soup
3 large carrots, cut into coins
2 eggs, beaten
1 ¼ cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
Additional salt to taste


Place the water in a large stock pot and bring to a boil.  Add in the chicken, vegetables, peppercorns, and salt, return to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 60-90 minutes.

Remove the vegetables and peppercorns; discard.  Remove the chicken, separating the meat from the skin and bones.   Shred the meat into small pieces and set aside; discard the rest.  Strain the stock to remove any missed solids.

Increase the heat to medium, bring the stock to a low boil and add in the carrots.   Meanwhile, stir together the eggs, flour, salt, and baking soda until if forms a smooth ball.  Roll the dough into a log.  Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut small bits of dough off directly into the boiling water.  I actually hold the dough over the pot and cut the dough right in – do beware of splashing water.

Finally, add in about half of the reserved chicken (or all of it if you like a lot) and simmer for 10-20 minutes.  Serve hot.  Feel better.

Serves 4

Enjoy!
YAmy

Comments

  1. This sounds delicious! Chicken soup is always so good when the weather is cooler.... or you're under the weather. Hope you're all feeling better now!

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  2. I love chicken and dumplings! This looks great =)

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  3. You can't go wrong with this unbeatable flavor combination! comfort food at it's best :)

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  4. This looks so perfect -- warm and comforting - so perfect for a cold -- or just a cold day! Thanks for posting. I have never made dumplings to put in soup before, I was just dreaming of them...

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  5. Just today I was thinking I wanted to make chicken soup and then this post was in my foodbuzz email! I am eager to make it. thanks

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