Chicken Soup with Pumpkin Sourdough Dumplings

As a person who maintains a sourdough starter, I often have leftover or “discard” starter. I don’t consider it a waste product because I love to incorporate discard into any recipe that requires flour and liquid. This chicken and dumpling soup is a perfect example. The starter itself adds deeper flavor to the dumplings, while pumpkin gives the soup a warm winter flavor.

By | November 08, 2021

Ingredients

SERVINGS: 6 Serving(s)
For the Soup
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 stalks celery, chopped
  • 2 large carrots, chopped
  • 7 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed and shredded
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
FOR THE DUMPLINGS
  • 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted
  • ½ cup pumpkin purée
  • ½ cup sourdough starter

Preparation

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, celery, and carrot. Cook and stir until vegetables are softened, 5–6 minutes. Add chicken meat, bay leaves, broth, salt, and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare dumpling dough. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. In a different bowl, whisk together butter, pumpkin purée, and starter until combined. Add wet mixture to dry mixture. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Shape into 18 dumplings.

Carefully drop dumplings into soup. Cover pot and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes or until dumplings are cooked through.

Note: I use starter that has been fed with equal amounts of flour and water by weight. If you have been feeding your starter by volume, reduce the amount of starter to 1/3 cup.

First published the Winter 2021 issue of Edible Alaska.

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Ingredients

SERVINGS: 6 Serving(s)
For the Soup
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 stalks celery, chopped
  • 2 large carrots, chopped
  • 7 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed and shredded
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
FOR THE DUMPLINGS
  • 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted
  • ½ cup pumpkin purée
  • ½ cup sourdough starter
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