Chicken and Leek Soup
And just like that, the weather changes and soups become a lot more appealing. This simple soup highlights the gentle flavor of leeks. Originally found on America’s Test Kitchen website, I made some modifications for a larger recipe with more of the delicious broth.
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup)
⅓ cup water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon table salt, divided (or less)
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or butter substitute and 2 tablespoons oil of choice
1-pound leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced ½ inch thick, and washed
thoroughly.
2 carrots, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
12 cups chicken broth
1 (2½-pound) rotisserie chicken, skin and bones discarded; meat shredded into bite-size pieces (3 cups)
1-2 branches fresh thyme
Method:
Combine flour, Parmesan, ¼ teaspoon salt, baking powder, and pepper in bowl; set aside. Combine water and egg; set aside.
Melt butter and oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add leeks, carrots, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt (or omit until the end). Cook until softened and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in broth and thyme and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium, keeping the broth simmering. Do not boil. If the broth boils, allow it to coolback to a simmer before adding the dumplings.
While the broth is heating, combine the flour and Parmesan mixture with the water and egg mixture. Using 2 spoons, scrape rough tablespoon-size dumplings into soup, cover, and cook at a gentle simmer without stirring, for 2 minutes. The top of the broth will be covered with dumplings. Gently stir to break up dumplings and continue to cook 2 minutes longer.
Carefully stir in chicken and cook until heated through, about 1 minute.
Adjust seasonings to taste. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving, if desired. Serve.
Notes and Options:
To produce light dumplings, it is essential to keep the broth just at a simmer once the dough has been dropped in the broth. I have turned out my share of heavy dough balls by letting the broth boil. The dumplings are still edible, but not nearly as appealing.
Rotisserie chickens vary in size. If you purchase a larger rotisserie chicken, start with adding 3-4 cups of meat. If you like more meat, add more. If not, use the remaining chicken for another dish or chop and freeze for another pot of soup. Some rotisserie chicken is saltier than others. If you wait until just before serving to adjust seasonings, it’s easier to achieve the level of seasonings that suit your tastes. The Parmesan cheese is also salty, so avoid adding too much salt until testing the end result.
If you are avoiding cow’s milk products, some people are better able to tolerate sheep or goat’s milk products. Pecorino Romano cheese can be substituted for Parmesan cheese. Reduce the amount of cheese to 1/3 cup. If you prefer a complete dairy substitute, look for a drier “cheese” that can be finely grated.
This recipe comes together quickly but some time is needed for prepping the leeks. Cleaning the leeks and grating the carrots can be done ahead and refrigerated to lessen the preparation time needed before the meal. As leeks grow, their layers trap dirt. This grit between your teeth won’t hurt you, but it totally distracts from the delicious soup. When cleaning the leeks, cut the leeks in half and then slice. Put the slices in a bowl of cold water and rub the slices to separate. Let the leek slices soak to remove any dirt or grit between the layers. The grit will settle to the bottom of the bowl. Using your hands or a slotted spoon, dip the leek slices out of the water into another bowl. Dump this water (and grit) and rinse again. If the leeks are very dirty repeat the rinsing process.
The broth of this soup freezes well. I recommend making fresh dumplings instead of freezing the dumplings with the broth. The dumplings will fall apart if stored in the broth, but it will taste just as good.