Semolina Dumpling Soup with vegetables, a healthy, delicious and super quick soup for kids and grown-ups alike. Ready in about 20 minutes, this dumpling soup is a favourite in Romania, and many other European countries. The semolina dumplings are soft and fluffy, and cooked to perfection.
In Romania, a day without a soup is a day that you most certainly wasted. As a nation, we are massive soup lovers, be it thick and filling, or light and nutritious. Meat soups are favourite, but a good vegetarian soup definitely has its fans too. Take this semolina dumpling soup - the base is a light veggie soup, nothing fancy, just everyday vegetables.
But then, the semolina dumplings are the real stars of the show here. Super fluffy, absolutely delicious, made with only 3 ingredients, the best dumplings you can get. And very quickly too.
I often use semolina in desserts - the semolina pudding being my favourite childhood treat- but in savoury dishes it's as delicious. The Romanian semolina dumplings can't be simpler, and although some people use more ingredients, you really need not complicate your life; the simpler, the better.
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How to make semolina dumplings
For so long, making semolina dumplings felt like winning the lottery - never got to experience it, just because I was doing it wrong. Or just had bad luck, who knows. There are a few tricks, but making the dumplings nice and fluffy is certainly doable.
- beat the egg with a pinch of salt until frothy - a hand mixer is great here
- add 9 teaspoons of semolina - but make sure the teaspoons are leveled - and mix well to get a smooth, runny paste
- leave the paste to rest for about 10-15 minutes, the semolina will absorb the egg, and thicken up
Don't be tempted to add any more semolina, otherwise the dumplings will be hard and rubbery - not nice!!!
- use a spoon to gently drop one dumpling at a time in the soup, the dumplings will double their volume and become all fluffy after cooking them for about 5-10 minutes
How to make the veggie soup with semolina dumplings
These semolina dumplings could be cooked in plain water, and they would still be delicious. But, of course, cooking them into a nice soup is the better option. This veggie broth can be the base for lots of other soups.
- peel and chop the onion, celery stalk, carrot and peppers
- bring a pan of water to the boil, then add the veggies and leave to cook until tender - it shouldn't take longer than 15 minutes or so
- after he dumplings are added and cooked, add the tomato paste, herbs and seasoning, and garnish with fresh parsley
And that's our soup ready! Quick, delicious, a big hit with my daughters who love soups. Do give it a try!
Expert tips
This veggie dumpling soup is so light and healthy, that it can be enjoyed even on a hot summer's day, although of course, it's soothing and comforting in winter.
We usually have this soup as a vegetarian dish, but it can, of course, have meat added too. Leftover or rotisserie chicken is a great way of adding protein, but still keeping it as light as you can.
You can also add any other leftover meats like beef, pork or ham, it usually work with whatever you have around.
Also, feel free to add any other veggies you have, either fresh or frozen, the more, the tastier. Do give it a go!
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Semolina Dumpling Soup
Ingredients
For the soup
- 4 cups vegetable stock (broth) (you can also use chicken or beef)
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 bell pepper (any colour you have)
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
For the dumplings
- 1 medium egg
- 9 teaspoon semolina (a level teaspoon)
- a pinch of salt
Instructions
- To make the dumplings, beat the egg with a pinch of salt until frothy, best to use an electric hand mixer if you have one.
- Add the semolina, making sure that they are level teaspoon, and not rounded.
- Beat well to get a smooth consistency, at this stage the mixture is pretty runny.
- Leave to rest for at least 10-15 minutes, or until the veggies are tender.
- To make the soup, bring the vegetable stock to a boil, add the peeled and chopped vegetables, and leave to cook until tender, it shouldn't take more than 15 minutes.
- At this stage the semolina mixture is thicker.
- Drop a tablespoon of semolina mixture at a time in the boiling soup, you should get about 5- 6 dumplings.
- Leave to cook until the dumplings double their size and become fluffy.
- Add the tomato paste, herbs and seasoning, and garnish with chopped parsley.
Notes
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- Make sure the teaspoons of semolina are level, and not rounded, too much semolina, and the dumplings will be hard, and not fluffy.
- Leave the mixture to thicken for at least 10-15 minutes, otherwise they will separate in the soup
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