Chicken Soup with Dumplings
Mar. 20th, 2004 11:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thebratqueenI was asked to post my Chicken Soup with Dumplings recipe. The catch is that I sort of make up the soup as I go, so I can only give a sketch of how it comes together. OTOH the Dumpling recipe is from Food 911 so I can give you exact details on that. =)
Chicken Soup
Chicken Broth (I used 3 32oz containers)
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cubed
Medium onion, diced, or one cup frozen diced onion, or large palmful of dried onion
Garlic (2-3 cloves minced or enough garlic powder to taste)
1 lb baby carrots, chopped into pieces (could be a pound of any form of carrot though. make sure to peel them if you use regular carrots)
1 lb celery, chopped. Use the leaves if you've got 'em.
Any other soup-appropriate veggies as desired (eg peas, cut green beans, corn, etc - this is really a good "let's use up whatever's in the fridge" kind of thing)
Egg noodles (I used wide Pennsylvania Dutch egg noodles, approx half a pound. Any kind of noodle will do though, or even small pasta like orzo)
Couple tablespoons of vegetable oil if you're using fresh onion and garlic. Otherwise you can omit this.
Finally for seasonings you need pepper, salt (ideally celery salt, but if not that then kosher salt or even regular salt will do), parsley (dried is fine), thyme (again dried is fine) and oregano (def include the oregano). Rosemary can also be used but I find it's annoying to get the bits of it later so I tend to leave it out. In terms of how much it really is to taste. I do maybe 5-6 twists of my pepper grinder, a handful or two of parsley, maybe a couple of teaspoons of thyme and oregano, and then round it out with the salt to wake up the flavors as needed.
You're also going to want boullion cubes. Knorr is the best brand I've found as they actually do taste and not just colored salt. Either use chicken boullion or you can try vegetable for a different mingling of flavor. I like a strong broth so I use 3 Knorr cubes with this much liquid. You may want to add to taste.
Now to put it all together.
Get a big soup pan. Preferably the widest one that you have, as that will come in handy with the dumplings later. We're not putting a whole chicken in here so wider is definitely better than deeper, though obviously you don't want to use a saute pan here either ;)
If you've got fresh onions and garlic you'll want to cook these first. Otherwise, as Jamie Oliver says, you've got "Boiled onions, man!" and nobody wants that. Heat up a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil on med-high heat, toss your onion and garlic in, and saute for a couple of minutes making sure not to burn that garlic (keep it moving and keep your broth handy to dump in if you see the garlic starting to turn brown). You just want to heat them up/sweat them. You don't want to actually get caramelization going.
Once that's done add the broth. Or, if you're using dry ingredients, adding the broth will be your first step.
To the broth you're going to add the dried onions and garlic powder if that's what you're using, and the parsley, thyme, and oregano. Leave off the boullion and salt and pepper for now. Get the broth to boiling (high or med-high heat) then add in your chicken and your vegetables. Stir to mix everything, then let the broth come to a boil again. Once it's boiling drop the heat to medium and cook for 20 min, or until chicken is cooked and veggies are on their way to being done (this again is a preference thing. some people like firm veggies, others like soft. I'm a soft girl myself so I cook them for a while. If you prefer a bit of bite feel free to add them in later, like 10 min before adding the noodles or something).
Once the chicken is cooked taste your broth. This is the time to add salt and pepper to kick up the taste, and boullion cubes if the flavor isn't strong enough for you. Like I say I enjoy a really strong broth so I dump in 3 Knoor cubes and I'm good to go.
Add the noodles and let them cook for about 10 min while you work on the dumplings.
For the dumplings you'll need:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk (I've always used 1 cup, but Tyler lists both measurements so there they are for what they're worth)
To prepare the dumplings: sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and milk together; pour the liquid in the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together, the batter should be thick and cake-like.
To cook the dumplings, drop heaping tablespoons of the batter onto the soup. (Double check your broth at this point, btw. If you added too much by way of pasta or noodles you may need to add some water to make sure you still have broth. Not that I've made this mistake myself at any time ;) ) In spite of what Tyler's original recipe says, don't worry if they crowd or touch each other. When I make them they often end up covering nearly all the available space of my pot. As long as you drop them in little individual balls they'll be fine.
Let the dumplings poach in the broth for 10-15 min until they are firm and puffy. If the tops of the dumplings look not to be done yet (ie not firm and still sticky like raw batter) cover the pot for 5-10 min to let the steam help cook them.
And then it's done. Serve up in your bowl of choice and enjoy. I've no idea the calorie count on this or the serving size, but it's fairly easy to make, uses up a lot of random ingredients and leftovers you might have lying around, makes the house smell good and definitely tastes great. It also makes a ton, by the way, so if you live alone be prepared for a lot of leftovers. I store mine in 1-2 cup size containers and stick them in my freezer. Then when I want them I can pop them out and zap them in the microwave in perfect serving sizes. Instant TV dinner =)
Oh, and fwiw I've done these dumplings in a crockpot as well. I just do whatever chicken soup I'm making in there normally, then plop the dumplings in once the soup's more or less done and then cook for an extra 20 min with the cover on. Comes out just fine.
And that's all I can think of. Hope it helped =)
I also made chocolate chip scones tonight. Anyone want that recipe?
Chicken Soup
Chicken Broth (I used 3 32oz containers)
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cubed
Medium onion, diced, or one cup frozen diced onion, or large palmful of dried onion
Garlic (2-3 cloves minced or enough garlic powder to taste)
1 lb baby carrots, chopped into pieces (could be a pound of any form of carrot though. make sure to peel them if you use regular carrots)
1 lb celery, chopped. Use the leaves if you've got 'em.
Any other soup-appropriate veggies as desired (eg peas, cut green beans, corn, etc - this is really a good "let's use up whatever's in the fridge" kind of thing)
Egg noodles (I used wide Pennsylvania Dutch egg noodles, approx half a pound. Any kind of noodle will do though, or even small pasta like orzo)
Couple tablespoons of vegetable oil if you're using fresh onion and garlic. Otherwise you can omit this.
Finally for seasonings you need pepper, salt (ideally celery salt, but if not that then kosher salt or even regular salt will do), parsley (dried is fine), thyme (again dried is fine) and oregano (def include the oregano). Rosemary can also be used but I find it's annoying to get the bits of it later so I tend to leave it out. In terms of how much it really is to taste. I do maybe 5-6 twists of my pepper grinder, a handful or two of parsley, maybe a couple of teaspoons of thyme and oregano, and then round it out with the salt to wake up the flavors as needed.
You're also going to want boullion cubes. Knorr is the best brand I've found as they actually do taste and not just colored salt. Either use chicken boullion or you can try vegetable for a different mingling of flavor. I like a strong broth so I use 3 Knorr cubes with this much liquid. You may want to add to taste.
Now to put it all together.
Get a big soup pan. Preferably the widest one that you have, as that will come in handy with the dumplings later. We're not putting a whole chicken in here so wider is definitely better than deeper, though obviously you don't want to use a saute pan here either ;)
If you've got fresh onions and garlic you'll want to cook these first. Otherwise, as Jamie Oliver says, you've got "Boiled onions, man!" and nobody wants that. Heat up a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil on med-high heat, toss your onion and garlic in, and saute for a couple of minutes making sure not to burn that garlic (keep it moving and keep your broth handy to dump in if you see the garlic starting to turn brown). You just want to heat them up/sweat them. You don't want to actually get caramelization going.
Once that's done add the broth. Or, if you're using dry ingredients, adding the broth will be your first step.
To the broth you're going to add the dried onions and garlic powder if that's what you're using, and the parsley, thyme, and oregano. Leave off the boullion and salt and pepper for now. Get the broth to boiling (high or med-high heat) then add in your chicken and your vegetables. Stir to mix everything, then let the broth come to a boil again. Once it's boiling drop the heat to medium and cook for 20 min, or until chicken is cooked and veggies are on their way to being done (this again is a preference thing. some people like firm veggies, others like soft. I'm a soft girl myself so I cook them for a while. If you prefer a bit of bite feel free to add them in later, like 10 min before adding the noodles or something).
Once the chicken is cooked taste your broth. This is the time to add salt and pepper to kick up the taste, and boullion cubes if the flavor isn't strong enough for you. Like I say I enjoy a really strong broth so I dump in 3 Knoor cubes and I'm good to go.
Add the noodles and let them cook for about 10 min while you work on the dumplings.
For the dumplings you'll need:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk (I've always used 1 cup, but Tyler lists both measurements so there they are for what they're worth)
To prepare the dumplings: sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and milk together; pour the liquid in the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together, the batter should be thick and cake-like.
To cook the dumplings, drop heaping tablespoons of the batter onto the soup. (Double check your broth at this point, btw. If you added too much by way of pasta or noodles you may need to add some water to make sure you still have broth. Not that I've made this mistake myself at any time ;) ) In spite of what Tyler's original recipe says, don't worry if they crowd or touch each other. When I make them they often end up covering nearly all the available space of my pot. As long as you drop them in little individual balls they'll be fine.
Let the dumplings poach in the broth for 10-15 min until they are firm and puffy. If the tops of the dumplings look not to be done yet (ie not firm and still sticky like raw batter) cover the pot for 5-10 min to let the steam help cook them.
And then it's done. Serve up in your bowl of choice and enjoy. I've no idea the calorie count on this or the serving size, but it's fairly easy to make, uses up a lot of random ingredients and leftovers you might have lying around, makes the house smell good and definitely tastes great. It also makes a ton, by the way, so if you live alone be prepared for a lot of leftovers. I store mine in 1-2 cup size containers and stick them in my freezer. Then when I want them I can pop them out and zap them in the microwave in perfect serving sizes. Instant TV dinner =)
Oh, and fwiw I've done these dumplings in a crockpot as well. I just do whatever chicken soup I'm making in there normally, then plop the dumplings in once the soup's more or less done and then cook for an extra 20 min with the cover on. Comes out just fine.
And that's all I can think of. Hope it helped =)
I also made chocolate chip scones tonight. Anyone want that recipe?
