Recipe: Farina Dumpling Soup (vegetarian)

FARINA DUMPLING SOUP

FOR THE DUMPLINGS:
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup regular (not instant) Cream of Wheat
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
6 cups vegetable stock, or as needed
Salt to taste
FOR THE SOUP:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 carrots, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
6 cups vegetable stock
2 celery stalks with leaves, thinly sliced
2 plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme OR 1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons snipped fresh dill OR 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

TO MAKE THE DUMPLINGS:
Stir together egg, Cream of Wheat and vegetable oil in small bowl. Cover and refrigerate 20 minutes.

To cook, bring medium saucepan of salted vegetable stock to boil over high heat. Drop batter by scant teaspoonfuls (dumplings will be irregular in shape) into stock. Reduce heat; simmer about 20 minutes, until dumplings expand and are cooked through. When they are done, use slotted spoon to transfer dumplings to plate; cover to keep warm. Discard stock.

TO MAKE THE SOUP:
Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add carrots and onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

Add vegetable stock. Increase heat to high and bring to boil. Stir in all remaining ingredients. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf and season to taste.

TO SERVE:
For each serving, place 2 to 3 dumplings in a soup bowl and ladle hot soup over them.

FOR ADVANCE PREPARATION:
The soup and dumplings will keep for up to 3 days in separate covered containers in refrigerator. It's easiest to assemble individual servings of soup with dumplings and reheat in microwave. Or reheat them together in a Dutch oven no longer than 10 minutes, taking care not to break dumplings apart.

Servings: 4
Source: A Beautiful Bowl of Soup by Paulette Mitchell