Clear chicken soup with dumplings

Tam West

These delightful little dumplings have become a go-to recipe of mine and are from a recipe by Australian foodwriter Stephanie Alexander. Stephanie doesn’t pan-fry them to finish, but I love the extra colour and flavour. This soup is the first course in a mid-winter celebration dinner. See links below to the other courses.

Chicken stock

2	Chicken carcass, plus a few wings (Main)
1	Onion, roughly chopped
1	Leek, trimmed and sliced
1	Carrot, roughly chopped
1 stalk	Celery, sliced
1	Bay leaf, plus a thyme sprig and a few parsley stalks
6	Black peppercorns
1 Tbsp	Cider vinegar

Dumplings and serving

1	Potato, about 170g, peeled and cut into 6 pieces (Main)
125 g	Turnip, peeled and roughly chopped
1	Small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
50 g	Butter, plus extra for pan-frying
1 Tbsp	Sugar
50 g	Semolina, fine (Main)
50 g	Self raising flour, or more if necessary
1 small	Egg, lightly beaten
1 small handful	Mixed soft herbs, such as snipped chives, sweet marjoram leaves or soft thyme leaves, to serve

Directions

Chicken stock

1. Place the chicken bones and wings in a large saucepan and cover well with cold water (preferably filtered water and at least 2 litres). Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Using a large spoon, skim the surface to remove particles of fat. Add the remaining ingredients to the saucepan and cook at a very gentle simmer for about 4 hours.
2. Strain chicken stock and allow to cool. Cover and place in the fridge to set any fat that will rise to the surface. Remove fat before using.

Dumplings and soup

1. Place the potato, turnip, onion, butter and sugar in a saucepan with ½ teaspoon salt and just barely cover with water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender and the liquid has nearly evaporated. Stir frequently as the vegetables begin to slightly caramelise.
2. Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil (or you can use chicken stock here) to cook the dumplings. Lightly butter a dish to place dumplings in.
3. Place potato mixture in a food processor and process until smooth. Allow to cool a little then add the semolina, flour and just enough egg to bring mixture together. Add extra flour at this stage if you must.
4. Turn out on to a floured bench and bring dumpling mixture together, working quickly but gently.
5. Divide mixture into 2 pieces, Roll each piece into a long rope and cut into 2.5-3cm pieces.
6. Lower the heat, so your saucepan of water or stock is now simmering. Drop in a few dumplings, leaving room for them to swell. As they rise to the surface, remove with a slotted spoon and place in the prepared dish.
7. To serve, gently heat chicken stock and season well with salt. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add a good knob of butter. As the butter sizzles, place in the dumplings, in batches, and brown on both sides.
8. Ladle stock into warmed soup bowls and add a few dumplings to each bowl. Top with soft herbs, if wished.

Kathy recommends

• Add extra flavourings to chicken stock: mushroom peelings, strips of lemon rind.
• Keep the stock at a very gentle simmer. Allowing it to boil will give you a cloudy stock.

More dishes from Kathy's celebratory midwinter dinner

• Eye fillet of beef with bitter greens and chargrilled sourdough
• Orange pots, oranges and chocolate crumble