Dumplin' Soup

Today you're going to learn how to make Fluffy Semolina Dumpling Soup. But if you aren't Italian and don't know where to get Semolina flour, you can substitute it for all purpose flour. This will just make the dumplings thinner so you might need to add a little more flour than asked. You can also substitute it for Kamut flour or Durham wheat flour. This is found on page 76 of Domenica Marchetti's book 'The glorious PASTA of Italy.'

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Cups of Half-and-Half
• 2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 3/4 Tsp fine sea salt
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 2/3 cup of semolina flour (1 and a little bit more cups of all purpose flour)
• 1/2 cup plus a little freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• 1 Tablespoon finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 Large eggs, light Beaten
• 6 cups of canned chicken broth, the chicken broth recipe at the bottom of the page (which should be made in advance), or your own recipe
• If you are using canned broth  add 1 teaspoon of Chicken Granules instant Bouillon for flavor



Time for the Fun!

Step 1: Wash your hands and prepare all of your ingredients for the dumplings by grinding your salt, beating your eggs, cutting 2 tbsp. of butter, mincing your parsley and having your cheese, nutmeg, milk, and flour ready.

 

Step 2: Grab a large sauce pan that can hold 6 cups or a large pot and place over medium heat. Pour in your chicken broth (and the Chicken Bouillon if it's canned broth) place the lid over it until it starts to boil. When it starts boiling anytime during the rest of the procedures just take off the lid and turn the heat down slightly.

Step 3: Pour the milk, butter, salt, and nutmeg in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan and place over medium heat. Bring it to a boil and gradually pour in the flour while whisking it into the mix. When it has thickened and is starting to pull away from the pan, pour it into a bowl using a spatula to scrape the sides

 

If your mixture looks too wet add more flour or make sure you have all the ingredients

Step 4: Stir in 1/2 cup of cheese and parsley, stirring slowly and easy. Carefully pour in the 2 eggs

Step 5: In this step you want to make sure that your chicken broth is boiling. The book says to grab 2 small spoons or  dessert spoons and scoop up about 1 tbsp. of the mix and to form it into an oval and gently drop it into the broth, but I did it a little differently. I just used 1 spoon and my finger to plop the dumpling in the broth because I attempted shaping it and I couldn't quite get it. You should have about 20-24 dumplings. Reduce the heat and let the dumplings simmer. Once they float to the top and puffed up considerably they are ready. If you wait too long yours will become mushy and fog up the broth and it'll look like mine. You don't want this.

 

(I should've turned down the heat long before it was boiling)

Step 6: Once you've turned down the heat, scoop a couple dumplings in a bowl and with a ladle, scoop some broth over the dumplings. Sprinkle some cheese on top and Enjoy! 

 vs. 

The pun of the post:

This recipe was fairly simple, but this was the recipe I messed up the most. This was probably because I rushed through the easiest part thinking I wouldn't need to worry about it. Always read the procedures thoroughly before starting the recipe to know exactly what you are going to be doing. So while I rushed I forgot the eggs, but strange enough the dumplings still tasted decent. That shows that if I actually made them correctly this soup must be pretty good. I also think that my dumplings would've benefited greatly with an extra large sauté pan rather than a pot. As always have fun with it. As she says in the book , "this is a soul- warming soup, just the thing to chase away the chill on frigid winter night," (Marchetti 76)

 

Question: When do I realize I've made a mistake in the recipe?

***To make your own broth follow the following steps from the book on Page 62

I didn't type it up myself because I didn't actually make it and get a chance to change it up a bit. Have fun, this is all you!
Marchetti, Domenica. The Glorious Pasta of Italy. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle, 2011. Print.