Chicken Noodle Soup and Dumplings Too.
I mentioned I was de-railed from my meal plan last week. My son came down with a fever and asked if I could please make him Chicken Soup to get better. Of course, I obliged. I had recently come across Thomas Keller’s recipe for Chicken Soup with Dumplings and I wanted to try it out. A perfect opportunity. I tweaked the recipe and I made fewer dumplings in favor of adding some egg noodles. It was very good and warming. I made a big pot so we had it for dinner two nights.
Recipe: Chicken Noodle and Dumpling Soup
Summary: An adaptation of Thomas Keller’s recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 tbs Unsalted Butter
- (1) 4 lb. Whole Chicken
- 58 oz. Low Sodium Chicken Broth
- 2 Whole Carrots – cut in thirds
- 2 Stalks Celery – cut in thirds
- 1 Whole Onion – peeled and cut in quarters
- 1 Whole Parsnip – cut in thirds
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 4 Sprigs Thyme
- Kosher Salt to taste
- 20 Black Peppercorns
- Handful of Parsley Sprigs
- Handful of Dill
- Roux – 3 1/2 tbs Unsalted Butter, 1/4 cup Flour
- 1 cup Baby Carrots – chopped into bite sized pieces
- 3/4 tsp honey
- 1 garlic clove – minced
- Black Pepper to taste
- 1 cup Celery – chopped into bites sized pieces
- 1 medium Onion – chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 1/4 cup Thin Egg Noodles
Dumplings
- 1/2 cup Water
- 2 tbs Unsalted Butter
- 3/4 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/3 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 large Egg
- 1 tbs Parsley – finely chopped
Fill a wide deep pot with salted water and bring to a simmer. Combine water, butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until it simmers. Add the flour all at once and stir quickly with a wooden spoon. The dough will pull away from the sides and bottom and be a glossy, smooth ball. Continue to cook for 4-5 minutes longer. A thin coating of dough will form on the bottom of the pan. Immediately transfer the dough to a stand mixer and add in mustard and salt and mix on low for a few seconds to allow some heat to escape. Add in the egg and continue to mix on the lowest setting until it is completely incorporated. Mix in the parsley. Using 2 teaspoons drop the dough into the simmering water and cook until the dumplings float (about 5 minutes). Cook them in batches so as not to overcrowd the pot. Cut one open to ensure it is cooked through before removing the rest with a slotted spoon. Set dumplings aside until you are ready to add to the soup.
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large stockpot over medium-low heat.
- Add carrots, celery, onion, parsnip, 1 bay leaf, 2 sprigs thyme, and salt to taste. Saute about 15 minutes until soft.
- Add in chicken broth, parsley, dill and peppercorns and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Partially cover and simmer 20-30 minutes.
- Rinse and pat chicken dry. Place chicken in the pot and add water to cover if necessary. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Skim the top as necessary.
- Using tongs remove chicken to a plate. Pull off the breast meat and the leg meat and place the rest of the whole chicken back in the pot to simmer for 30 minutes.
- Shred the chicken breast and leg meat on the plate, cover and place in the fridge.
- Make the Roux. Melt butter for roux in a saucepan over medium heat. When it is almost melted, whisk in the flour. Cook and whisk continuously for3-4 minutes. The roux should bubble but not brown. Set it aside and let cool.
- Using colander strain the broth into a bowl to remove the solids.
- Place the broth back into the stock pot and bring to a simmer. Skim off the fat from the top.
- Whisk in the roux a little at a time until you reach desired thickness, it should coat the back of a spoon. I did not choose to make it that thick. Simmer for 30 minutes. It will thicken while it cooks. Skim the soup as necessary.
- Place the chopped carrots into a saucepan with the honey, thyme, garlic, bay leaf and a pinch of salt. Add water to cover and simmer and cook about 5 minutes. Drain carrots and set aside.
- Add in the chopped onions, celery and cooked carrots.
- Add in the shredded chicken meat.
- Add in the egg noodles and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Ladle soup into bowls add a little fresh chopped parsley and top with dumplings. Serve hot.
