Meat Dumplings in Vegetable Sauce with homemade chicken stock

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade chicken stock ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Put the chicken, the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, bay leaves and peppercorns and the water in a pot and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam that rises during the first 15 minutes with a spoon.

   StovePot
2. 2
   Turn down and simmer gently 2.5–3 hours.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
3. 3
   Strain the stock.

   Colander

For the Wrapping Dough

1. 4
   In a bowl, mix the flour and salt.

   Bowl
2. 5
   Add the olive oil, the egg and the water and Knead about 5 minutes, until you get a smooth, soft dough that doesn't stick to your hands.

   BowlStand mixer

   💡If the dough sticks, add a tablespoon of flour; if it crumbles, a tablespoon of water. Good dough is as soft as an earlobe.
3. 6
   Cover and let the dough rest 20 minutes at room temperature.

   💡Oil-and-water dough needs no rising: the rest relaxes the gluten, so the dough rolls out thin without shrinking back.

For the Meatball mix

1. 7
   Mix the ground meat with the onion, garlic, parsley, paprika, turmeric, salt and black pepper until evenly combined.

To assemble

1. 8
   Roll out the dough thin on a floured surface. Cut out 8 cm rounds with a glass.

   Rolling pinGlass (for drinking/serving)

   💡Roll from the center outward and give the dough a quarter turn between rolls: this keeps it even in thickness and stops it sticking to the counter. If it springs back, cover for 10–15 minutes and try again.
2. 9
   Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each round, fold into a half-moon and press the edges firmly.
3. 10
   Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

   StovePot
4. 11
   Add the onion and carrot and fry 3 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   Stove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
5. 12
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   Stove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
6. 13
   Add the stock and turmeric to the pot and bring to a boil.

   StovePot
7. 14
   Add the dumplings to the boiling broth and cook about 5 minutes, until they float.

   Stove
8. 15
   Serve the dumplings hot in deep bowls with the broth.