Chicken Soup with Dumplings
Difficulty 3/5 Ingredients 34 Steps 20
This is a rich, complex chicken soup with dumplings. It is based on a recipe by Thomas Keller as written in his book, Ad Hoc at Home.
Ingredients
Chicken stock
- 5 lbs chicken bones, necks, and backs
- 1 lb chicken feet
- 4 quarts cold water
- 8 cups ice cubes
- 1 ¾ cups carrots, 1-inch diced
- 2 cups leeks, 1-inch diced
- 1 ½ cups Spanish onions, 1-inch diced
- 1 bay leaf
Dumplings
- ½ cup water
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- ⅔ cup flour
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 large eggs
- 4 tsp minced chives
Broth
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 cup coarsely-chopped celery
- 1 cup coarsely-chopped onion
- 1 cup coarsely-chopped leeks
- Kosher salt
- ½ cup roux
Finishing
- 1 ½ cups celery, peeled and sliced ⅛ inch
- 1 ½ cups carrots, scrubbed and cut bite size
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 thyme sprigs
- 1 large garlic clove, crushed with skin on
- Kosher salt
- Freshly-ground black pepper
- 2 cups cooked chicken (diced, shredded, dark, white, as you like)
- ¼ cup minced chives
- Champagne vinegar to taste
- Parsley to garnish
Steps
Stock
- Wash blood and organs off all chicken parts.
- Bring chicken and water to a simmer. Skim. Add ice. Skim fat consolidated by ice.
- Add remaining ingredients. Simmer 40 minutes. Rest 10 minutes.
- Strain stock gently, without pushing impurities through mesh.
- Return to heat. Cook down to 4 ½ quarts.
Dumplings
- Bring wide pot of salted water to simmer.
- Combine water, butter and 1 tsp salt in medium saucepan. Bring to simmer.
- Add flour. Cook on medium about 5 minutes until nutty aroma. Do not brown.
- Put dough in mixing bowl. Add mustard and salt. Mix on low speed.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated. Add chives.
- Shape quenelles with two spoons. Cook about 7 minutes in large pot of salted water. Rest on cutting board.
Broth
- Melt butter on low heat.
- Add vegetables and salt. Cook on low heat 30–35 minutes, covered with parchment lid.
- Add stock. Simmer 30 minutes. Strain out and discard vegetables.
- Whisk in roux a little at a time. Simmer 30 minutes, skimming impurities. Use enough roux to thicken as preferred.
Finishing
- Blanch celery in salted water until tender. Cool in ice bath.
- Put carrots in saucepan with honey, bay, thyme, garlic, pinch of salt and water to just cover. Simmer until tender, 5 minutes.
- Add dumplings, chicken, carrots, celery and chives to soup.
- Add vinegar ½ tbsp at a time to taste.
- Sprinkle with parsley. Serve hot.
Notes from the original
- Dairy free variation: use Miyokos butter or oil, but experiment so the roux is the right consistency (not solid, should flow off of a spoon).
- Whole grain flour tastes great in both dumplings and roux, but is harder to strain out because of the bran, so plan a bit extra time and patience for that.
- Soup keeps fresh for five days in the refrigerator.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Chicken Soup with Dumplings” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2026-01-24, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.