Chicken Vegetable and Herb Dumpling Soup

                               

    
                              Chicken Vegetable and Herb Dumpling Soup

What's your favourite soup recipe? I've a couple of other chicken soup recipes on the blog but you just can't have enough chicken soup in my eyes. 

Although spring is upon us it's still rather chilly here in England and what could be better to warm us up than a good old bowl of soup.  I've added my favourite herb dumplings making it a complete meal in itself.  This recipe will serve 6 easily making it a really economical and satisfying dish.

Now I make my dumplings with suet but if you'd rather use butter then that's fine... the easiest way is to freeze the butter and then grate it into the flour then quickly mixing it in with the herbs & water.

Here we go then.

For the Soup :-

3 pints of good chicken stock either homemade or store bought
about 1lb cooked chicken cut into smallish pieces ( I stripped mine from a roasted chicken)
3  medium carrots sliced thinly
3 sticks of celery chopped
1 large onion diced
2 leeks thinly sliced
a small head of broccoli cut into small florets
a bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsps rapeseed or olive oil (or butter)
salt & pepper to taste.

For the Herb Dumplings :-

3 tbsps of suet or grated  frozen butter * see above
¾ cup of self raising flour
2½ tbsps of fresh green herbs,  I used parsley, thyme and rosemary
1 tsp sea-salt  
few good grinds of the black pepper mill
¾ cup of ice cold water 

 The Soup:-

Sweat all the vegetables except the broccoli in a large saucepan with the oil/ butter on a low heat until almost soft...should take around 15 minutes
Add the stock, bay leaf and thyme
Taste and add any necessary salt & pepper
Simmer for around 5 minutes more then add the broccoli and chicken. When the soup begins to bubble again add the dumplings ( recipe below).  Continue to simmer gently without stirring for around 10 minutes when the dumplings should be cooked and deliciously tender.   

The Dumplings:-

Just mix all the dry ingredients lightly together in a large bowl
Add enough cold water to bring everything together into a soft pliable dough  (don't over wet the dough) 
Form into around 18 small balls.
Add to the hot soup as described above. 

Serve piping hot and I hope you thoroughly enjoy it... let me know how you get on  



IF YOU NEED ANY ADVICE OR WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT THEN PLEASE LEAVE ME A MESSAGE IN THE COMMENTS BELOW AND I'LL GET BACK TO YOU ASAP   Thank you ♥ 

Homemade Tomato Soup with a hint of Basil served with Parmesan Crisps

Homemade Tomato Soup with a hint of Basil served with Parmesan Crisps


The flavour of this soup takes me back to my childhood.  If I felt unwell the only thing I ever wanted to eat was a bowl of tomato soup....usually Heinz Cream of Tomato.  This soup is thick and warming but it only has the tiniest amount of fat in it. No butter, no cream...the parmesan crisps are optional but I love them....they will happily accompany so many other soups, salads and risottos...and are a complete doddle to make.

To serve 6

2½lbs really ripe tomatoes
2 carrots chopped
2 sticks of celery chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 large onion diced
1 tsp dried oregano
few basil leaves
around 1pt of good chicken or vegetable stock
1tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp freshly milled black pepper
seasoning to taste 
1 Dessertspoon of Rapeseed or Olive
Parmesan Crisps:-

for the parmesan crisps allow 1heaped tbsp of grated parmesan per crisp
line an oven tray with parchment paper and place the heaped tbsps of the cheese in piles leaving plenty of space between each pile
You can either bake them in a hot oven for just  2 or 3 minutes...keep your eye on them  
as soon as they start to bubble and turn colour take them out and leave to cool
I actually put mine under a hot grill....but don't leave them for second....watch them like a hawk they'll be done in a minute or 2...same applies leave them to cool and they will crisp up.
Then remove them from the paper

The Soup:-

In a large covered pan sweat the carrots, onions, celery & garlic in the oil
When almost tender add all the tomatoes continue to cook until they soften down
Add the oregano, pepper, the stock & Balsamic Vinegar
Simmer for around 15 minutes
Check the seasoning and blitz everything together until smooth adding a little chopped basil towards the end

Serve hot with the parmesan crisps and a garnish of basil leaves

    
        

Chorizo & Chickpea Soup

Chorizo & Chickpea Soup

There's nothing quite as satisfying as a bowl of warming soup at lunchtime or supper. This Chorizo & Chickpea  is one of my absolute favourites. I adore the smell of Chorizo cooking, the wonderful aroma & flavour of smoked paprika permeates throughout and the chickpeas add a great texture to it. This soup is oh so reminiscent of wonderful holidays spent in Spain and The Canaries. So easy to make, it will become a firm favourite with the family.


To Serve 4/6
1 medium sized dried not fresh chorizo approx 6 oz diced
1oz pancetta or bacon lardons
1 leek washed & finely sliced
1 red pepper diced
1 large onion diced
2 medium carrots diced
2 celery stalks diced
1 or two leaves of green cabbage finely sliced
1 tbsp good oil, I used rapeseed but olive oil will do
1 tin Chick Peas (I used brown but any will do)
1 pint or so of chicken stock a cube will do if you don't have fresh
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika, dulce or hot as preferred
sprinkle of dry thyme
sprinkle of dried oregano
2 tsp cornflour slaked in a little water
seasoning to taste.
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In a large saucepan, with the lid on, fry the bacon then sweat the vegetables in the oil until beginning to soften. On a medium heat.
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Add the tomato puree, paprika & herbs then the chorizo. Mix together well.
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Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for around 15/20 mins, add the sliced cabbage and continue cooking for another 5 minutes
Add the cornflour and cook on for a couple of minutes
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Season to taste. & serve.