Chicken & Herb Dumpling Soup

Chicken and Dumplings is a comfort food classic! No argument here. But this week, for a change of pace, I thought I'd serve it up as a soup instead of the traditional thick stew.

Now you've heard me mention our household dumpling rivalry before... I'm a Fluffy Dumpling Fan whereas my husband prefers something thick and chewy. So I thought I'd pay homage to his childhood and amp up the chew factor in this Dumpling Soup. And boy, I'm so glad I did! These dumplings are the perfectly chewy, herby bite on your soup spoon.

The soup itself couldn't be easier. I start with sautéing onions, carrots and celery, and then boost up the flavor from there. Couple cloves of garlic never hurt anyone. And then the herbs - oh the herbs! In my humble opinion, the herbs star in this soup just as much as the delightfully chewy dumplings. I stir in dried thyme, bay leaf, fresh parsley and dill. Dill? Yes, dill. I'm telling ya, once you put dill in your Chicken Soup, you'll never go back.

Parsley and dill even make their way into the dumplings themselves driving home that fresh herby point. And take care when forming your dumplings. Think small thoughts. Actually, the same can be said for all the ingredients in the pot! The chicken, carrots, dumplings... you want to gather a bit of each on your spoon for the perfect soupy mouthful.

Now, for a quick weeknight meal I opted to use a couple of boxes of chicken stock. I know, I know. Sue me. But my little trick to zhuzh it up a bit... I cook the chicken right in the soup. Keeps the chicken super moist, and imparts all its chickeny flavor right into the stock! Plus, save you the trouble of dirtying another pot or pan. However, if you have homemade stock on hand, use it. This soup will be all the better for it!

Chicken & Herb Dumpling Soup

Ingredients

For the soup

· 2 tbsp olive oil

· 1 onion, diced fine

· 4 medium carrots, peeled and diced

· 2 stalks celery, diced fine

· 2 garlic cloves, minced

· 2 dried bay leaves

· ½ tsp ground thyme

· ¼ tsp turmeric

· 1 tsp salt

· ½ tsp pepper

· 10 cups chicken stock

· 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

· 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

· 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill

· Liquid seasoning, such as Maggi

For the herb dumplings

· 3 ¼ cup flour

· 1 ½ tsp baking powder

· 1 ¼ tsp salt

· ½ tsp pepper

· 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley

· 1 tsp chopped fresh dill

· 2 eggs

· 1 cup milk

For the soup… Heat olive oil in the bottom of a large dutch oven. Sautee the onions, carrots, celery and garlic over medium low heat until the onions are translucent. Add the bay leaves, thyme, turmeric, salt, pepper and chicken stock. Stir to combine.

Cover and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken breasts. Continue to simmer covered over low to medium low heat until the chicken is fall apart tender – about 30-40 minutes.

For the herb dumplings… while the chicken cooks, prepare the dumplings. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, parsley and dill. In a large measuring cup, whisk together the eggs and milk. Using a spatula, combine the flour and milk mixtures until a shaggy dough forms.

Pour the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead into a smooth ball. Cut the ball into quarters. Take one of the wedges of dough and roll into a snake about 1/2in thick. Using a butter knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into 1/2in disks. Dust the dumplings with a bit of flour so they do not stick, and transfer to a plate or baking sheet lined with parchment. Repeat with the remaining wedges of dough. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to cook.

Remove the chicken from the pot. Dice the chicken meat and return to the soup.

Before serving, cook the dumplings. Bring the soup to a boil and add the dumplings. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the dumplings are puffed and cooked through. Stir in the fresh parsley and dill. Season to taste with liquid seasoning.

Serves 4

GF Friendly

Gluten Free Friendly!

Swap the flour for Cup4Cup.