After enjoying an irresistible all-you-can-eat buffet during our 7-day vacation in Mexico, I’ve decided to make semolina dumplings soup – a vitamin-rich soup that is light and low in calories and fat.

Time: 75 min, Prep: 30 min. Cook: 45 min.
Servings: 8

Ingredients:            

For soup:

• 3 l water
• chicken (I used 4 chicken drumsticks)
• 2 celery stalks, cut into 4-inch pieces
• 1 onion, peeled
• 2 carrots, peeled
• 3 potatoes, peeled
• Salt, pepper
• Freshly chopped parsley for serving

For dumplings:

• 7 tablespoons of semolina
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of butter
• a pinch of salt

Preparation:

Put the water to boil, add the chicken as well as the whole onion, carrots, potatoes and the celery stalks pieces. Add salt and pepper to taste. With a strainer or slotted spoon remove foam that forms on top of the soup and discard. Boil for about 30 minutes or until the meat and vegetables are tender when pierced with a knife. Then remove chicken and vegetables from the stock.

In the meantime, stir the butter with the eggs and salt. Add the semolina a little at a time (like a rain), stirring continuously. This results in a mixture that should have the thickness of sour cream.

In a separate pot, bring 2 l water to boil and add some salt. Reduce heat to medium. Then cut little dumplings from the semolina mixture with a tablespoon and drop them into the boiling water. Leave to simmer gently for about 10 minutes until the dumplings rise to the surface and are fluffy.

After the soup was strained into a clean pot, set to boil and reduce heat to medium. Move the dumplings into the chicken broth and let them boil for 5 more minutes.

Add thinly chopped parsley to the soup. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Gently place the dumplings in the serving bowl (so they do not break) and pour the soup on top of them.

Tips:

- Dip the tablespoon into the hot water before cutting the dumplings with the tablespoon. This way the semolina mixture won’t stick to your tablespoon and it will be easier to make the dumplings.

- Cut small pieces as they get 3-4 times bigger while boiling.

- You can also boil the dumplings directly in the chicken broth for 15 minutes. I boiled them separately in salted water just to have a clear soup as some of the dumplings may break while boiling / stirring.

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