Chicken Soup with Herb Dumplings

There’s nothing more warming than a bowl of chicken soup on a cold day. The herb dumplings make it hearty and extra savory. See note below to make it vegan.

Soup:

2 T olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1⁄2 t kosher salt
1 t ground mustard
1⁄8 t ground turmeric
1 bay leaf
1-2 sprigs fresh thyme
6-7 c water or chicken broth
1⁄4 t ground black pepper
1 lb chicken breast, cut into 1⁄2” cubes
6 T parsley, chopped

Dumplings:

3⁄4 c all-purpose flour
3 T grated parmesan
1 T minced fresh thyme leaves
1 t minced fresh rosemary leaves
1⁄2 t kosher salt
1⁄4 t ground black pepper
3⁄4 whole milk (or use nut milk if vegan)

In a soup pot, heat the olive oil. Add the chopped onion, celery, and carrot. Sprinkle with salt and sauté on medium heat for about 8 minutes, until vegetables have softened but not browned. Add mustard, turmeric, bay leaf, thyme, broth or water, and pepper and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Combine all dumpling dry ingredients in a medium bowl and stir with a fork to combine. Slowly stir in milk until a wet dough forms.

Uncover soup pot and bring soup back to a boil. Stir in chicken chunks. Use a spoon to drop 1 teaspoon-size lumps (or smaller if you prefer) of dumpling dough into the hot liquid. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 7-10 minutes, until the dumplings and chicken are cooked. Stir in parsley. Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs and serve.

NOTE: To make the soup vegan, replace chicken with firm tofu. Instead of chicken broth, use vegetable broth or water. Use nut milk in the dumplings to replace whole milk.