Chicken and dumpling soup

I think of this as a cross between the American version of matzo ball soup and chicken pot pie without the pie. It's a hearty soup filled with veggies and soft fluffy dumplings swimming in a rich, thick broth that can be eaten as your main meal. It's seems long and complicated to make, but it's not as bad as it looks, it's done in various steps and well worth the effort. Here's what you'll need:

For the stock:

1 (3 to 31/2 pound) whole kosher chicken

2 bay leaves

¼ tsp turmeric powder

6 sprigs thyme (optional)

1 head garlic, split in half

2 tablespoons salt

 Soup/Sauce:

2 tablespoons parve margarine

1 tbsp flour

2 tablespoons oil

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

6 cups chicken stock

1 cup frozen peas

Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish

Chopped chives, for garnish

 Dumplings:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup chopped chives

3/4 to 1 cup water or stock or soy milk

Place the chicken and all stock ingredients in a large pot and cover with water, bring to a boil on high then reduce heat to minimum and let simmer for 1 hour until the chicken is tender. Skim the surface of fat and scum as it cooks. When done remove the chicken to a cutting board, let it cool till your able to handle it and remove all the chicken from the carcass and set aside. Strain the stock which will be used to make the sauce, the shredded chicken will be added into it afterwards.

To prepare sauce/soup: In a large pot, over medium heat, add the margarine and oil. Add the carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaves and sauté until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes to coat the flour and remove the starchy taste. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add frozen peas. Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes, you can stir in ½ cup of soy milk for extra richness.

For the dumplings:

Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, using a whisk, lightly beat the eggs, chives and liquid together; pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together; the batter should be thick and cake-like. Add in the reserved shredded chicken into the sauce and bring up to a simmer, then using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching each other. Let the dumplings poach for 10 to 15 minutes until they are firm and puffy. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season the soup with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped chives before serving.