Clear chicken soup with dumplings

These delightful little dumplings have become a go-torecipe of mine and are from a recipe by Australian food writer Stephanie Alexander. Stephanie doesn’t pan-fry them to finish, but I love the extra colour and flavour.

Serves 4 Chicken stock

2 chicken carcasses plus a

few wings 1 onion, roughly chopped 1 leek, trimmed and sliced 1 carrot, roughly chopped 1 stick celery, sliced 1 bay leaf, sprig thyme, few

parsley stalks 6 black peppercorns 1 Tbsp cider vinegar 1 Place the chicken bones and wings in a large saucepan and cover well with cold water (preferably filtered water and at least 2 litres). Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Using a large spoon, skim the surface to remove particles of fat. Add the remaining ingredients to the saucepan and cook at a very gentle simmer for about 4 hours. 2 Strain chicken stock and allow to cool. Cover and place in the fridge to set any fat that will rise to the surface. Remove fat before using.

Dumplings

1 potato (about 170g), peeled and cut into 6 pieces 125g turnips, peeled and

roughly chopped 1 small onion, peeled and

roughly chopped 50g butter, plus extra for

pan-frying 1 Tbsp sugar 50g fine semolina 50g self-raising flour or

more if necessary 1 small egg, lightly beaten Soft herbs, such as snipped chives, sweet marjoram leaves or soft thyme leaves, to serve 1 Place the potato, turnip, onion, butter and sugar in a saucepan with ½ teaspoon salt and just barely cover with water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender and the liquid has nearly evaporated. Stir frequently as the vegetables begin to slightly caramelise. 2 Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil (or you can use chicken stock here) to cook the dumplings. Lightly butter a dish to place dumplings in. 3 Place potato mixture in a food processor and process until smooth. Allow to cool a little then add the semolina, flour and just enough egg to bring mixture together. Add extra flour at this stage if you must. 4 Turn out on to a floured bench and bring dumpling mixture together, working quickly but gently. 5 Divide mixture into 2 pieces, Roll each piece into a long rope and cut into 2.5-3cm pieces. 6 Lower the heat, so your saucepan of water or stock is now simmering. Drop in a few dumplings, leaving room for them to swell. As they rise to the surface, remove with a slotted spoon and place in the prepared dish. 7 To serve, gently heat chicken stock and season well with salt. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add a good knob of butter. As the butter sizzles, place in the dumplings, in batches, and brown on both sides. 8 Ladle stock into warmed soup bowls and add a few dumplings to each bowl. Top with soft herbs, if wished. Add extra flavourings to chicken stock; mushroom peelings, strip of lemon rind. Keep the stock at a very gentle simmer. Allowing it to boil will give you a cloudy stock.