This chicken and dumpling soup is unlike most. The dumplings are not fluffy clumps dolloped on top, but rather silky, slippery squares cooked in the broth. Upon some research I’ve found that they’re called slip dumplings, and are sometimes found in Southern American iterations of the soup. How they found their way into my family’s repertoire, I don’t know. But, I do know that the dumplings are delicious and are a taste of my childhood. My brother and I always begged my mom to double the amount in the soup, and so I’ve done that here in this recipe, but feel free to reduce the amount by half. It’ll still be warming and soul nourishing. I also recommend serving it with a few dashes of Tabasco, per family tradition.
INGREDIENTS
For the dumplings:
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
-10 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
-1/3 cup ice water (you might not use all of it)
For the soup:
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt, more to taste
4 cups good chicken stock, preferable homemade
2 cups water
1 roast chicken, meat picked off and shredded (I used about half the meat for this and saved half for another dish)
To serve:
Chopped parsley
A few dashes of Tabasco
INSTRUCTIONS
- To make the dumplings, combine flour and salt in a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine.
- Add the chopped butter and pulse until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
- As you pulse, slowly pour in ice water until a rough dough forms. It should bunch up forming a rough ball. Moderation is key here, as too much water will make the dough too sticky. If this happens, add a little more flour and mix.
- Remove from food processor, pat into a square and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to roll (literally!).
- To make the soup, heat olive oil over medium heat in a Dutch oven or other sturdy bottom pot. Add the diced carrot, onion, celery, salt and pepper and stir. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft.
- Add the chicken stock and water and bring to a boil.
- Add the shredded chicken and reduce to a low simmer.
- Remove your dumpling dough and cut into two pieces. Flour a work surface liberally and roll out one piece to be about 1/8 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter, cut into ~2×2 inch squares. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Carefully add dough squares a few at a time to soup, and let simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Season with salt to taste, and serve with chopped parsley and a dash or two of Tabasco.