Chicken Soup with Meatballs and Dumplings (Hønsekødssupper Med Kød Og Melboller)
If ever there was a dish made to soothe the soul and warm up on a cold evening, the Danish chicken soup with meatballs and dumplings is it!
Once served exclusively to the Danish nobility, nowadays it’s a part of everyday Danish cuisine. With hearty ingredients such as pork meatballs and dumplings made with butter, flour and eggs and nutritious vegetables, this soup will to keep you satiated for hours.
Try this simple recipe yourself and enjoy!
Danish Chicken Soup with Meatballs and Dumplings (Hønsekødssupper Med Kød Og Melboller)
This soup is perfect on a rainy or cold day, and is said to really "stick to your ribs," meaning fill you up and keep you full for hours.
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 3 carrots chopped
- 2 leek chopped
- 1 parsley root chopped
- 3 stalks celery or 1/4 celeriac root
- 1 onion finely chopped
For the meatballs:
- 1/2 lbs ground pork (or ground pork mixed with ground beef)
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 small onion finely diced/grated
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp milk
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Dumplings:
- 2 ½ oz wheat flour
- 2 ⅔ oz butter
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup water
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
For garnish
- fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- First, place a pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil. We'll use this water to cook the meatballs and dumplings before adding them to the soup base.
For the meatballs:
- In a bowl combine the pork mince with the flour, egg, finely diced onion, salt and pepper until everything is well-incorporated. Add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time as you combine to help bind the mixture together.
- Fry a small dollop of the mix in a little oil and taste it to check for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
- Take chunks out of the mixture and shape them into 1-inch diameter meatballs between your palms. You can use a spoon for this as well. Dip your hands in water (or the spoon in hot water) to keep the meat from sticking to your hands while working with it.
- Place the meatballs in boiling water and simmer them for about 5-10 minutes, until cooked through, then transfer them to a plate.
For the dumplings:
- In a saucepan, melt 2 ½ ounces of butter and add 1/2 cup of water. Next, place the flour in together with the butter mixture and stir vigorously until it forms a thick dough. Continue stirring constantly while you cook it for another 1-2 minutes, until it stops sticking to the pan and forms a solid dough.
- Turn the heat off and let it cool for about 10 minutes. It's important that the dough isn't too hot to prevent the eggs from scrambling when we add them to the dough.
- Add the eggs, incorporating the first egg with a spoon or spatula before adding the second. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Use a teaspoon (dessert spoon) to scoop some of the dumpling mixture and add it to the boiling water the meatballs cooked in to cook. Let the dumplings simmer for 5 minutes and remove from the water once they've started to float.
For the soup:
- Dice the root vegetables finely and the leeks into 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) thick pieces.
- Place the chicken stock in a pot and bring to a boil, then add all the diced vegetables and cook until they've softened.
- Add the meatballs and dumplings and bring the sup to a boiling point again. Simmer gently for about 5 minutes to heat the dumplings and meatballs through then turn off the heat.
- Ladle out some the dumplings and meatballs into each bowl before adding the soup.
- Serve and enjoy with a sprinkle of fresh parsley on top and a slice or two of fresh bread.
Notes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
