Chicken Soup with pasta and parsley dumplings

Today is a real chicken soup day - and I finally tried those parsley dumplings I've been meaning to make for years.

First, I made a quick chicken stock using the cold, roasted chicken in the fridge, some bones from last nights dinner, parsley stems, carrots, leeks and onions.  Brought it to a simmer for about 20 minutes, then strained the stock. 

Cut the chicken meat up into pieces, making sure all the bones are out. Place the strained stock in a stockpot .  Taste the stock and add salt, pepper.

The soup:

bite size pieces of chicken

2 onions, coarsely chopped

small baby carrots, or large carrots, cut up, peeled ( I use a small bag of peeled baby carrots)

1 t. dried thyme

1 T. fresh rosemary

Chicken bouillion cubes if needed for more flavor

 a batch of dough for parsley dumplings ( recipe below)

a few handfuls of nice pasta - I used Cellentani by Barilla

1/2 cup chopped parsley

Place the chicken, onions, carrots, and herbs in the pot and bring to a simmer.  Taste the stock - if it's too watery, add a cube or two of chicken boullion ( Herb-Ox).

Let simmer for about 30 minutes.  Roll the parsley dumplings into small balls ( about the size of a large marble).  Place the dumplings carefully on top of the simmering soup and cover.  Let dumplings cook 15 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon to a microwave-safe dish.

Add pasta to the soup and let cook until just tender.  Add the parsley and turn off soup.  Taste the soup and adjust seasonings, if needed.

Microwave the parsley dumplings for 3-4 minutes.

Ladle out soup and add a few dumplings to each bowl.

Parsley Dumplings

1 1/2 cups King Arthur flour

2 t. baking powder

salt and pepper

2 T. chopped parsley

1 T. chopped fresh rosemary

3 T. cold, unsalted butter, cut up

3/4 cup milk

 Place flour, baking powder, salt and pepper, parsley, and rosemary in mixer bowl.  Add the butter and mix until it looks like cornmeal.  Add 1/2 cup milk to the mixture - if it forms a good dough, don't bother with the rest of the milk.  If it's still dry, add a little more milk until a dough is formed.

Enjoy!