The concept of a soup made of mushrooms and leeks with dumplings in it sounded pretty odd and yet incredibly appealing to me when I saw it in the magazine. This recipe is a bit involved but the final product is completely worth it! It’s filling enough to be a full dinner by itself, or supplement it with a simple salad if you insist on having something green at every meal (as you should) . . . read on for my variation on Bon Appetit’s Mushroom and Leek Soup with Parsley Dumplings.
The recipe calls for re-hydrating dried porcini mushrooms in addition to using fresh baby bellas and I think that the two mushrooms used together are a key component of the depth of flavor achieved in this soup. The leeks are a nice touch with the mushrooms but I am sure you could substitute shallots or onions with equally good results. I increased the garlic (because I love garlic) and skipped the sherry (because I didn’t have any) and made a few other small changes due to not having the exact right ingredients on hand. I think we all cook this way, right? If not, please don’t tell me!
This was my first time making dumplings and I have to say that my technique needs some work. My little dough piles looked like mutants rather than like the cute little pillows shown in the recipe photo. Next time I’ll take a bit more care in shaping each of them before plopping them into the water . . .
See what I mean? Mutant dumplings. Good thing I wasn’t serving these to anyone too discriminating!
I absolutely loved the extra step of browning them as it completely changed the texture of the outside of the dumpling while leaving the inside as tender and moist as usual. They looked so good browning in butter that I couldn’t help but eat a few of them right out of the pan! It also made me wonder about what would happen if I tried browning matzo balls . . . anyone ever tried that? What did you think?
All in all I give this soup two enthusiastic thumbs up. In the end it was worth all the work and I enjoyed it several days in a row. Whenever I make a huge pot of soup I always freeze some in single-serving sizes for the future and there is one more bowl’s worth of this yumminess defrosting in my fridge as I type this — can’t wait to enjoy it tomorrow for lunch!
Mushroom and Leek Soup with Dumplings
Adapted from Bon Appetit magazine, February 2010
Soup Ingredients:
- 2 cups water
- 3/4 oz dried porcini mushrooms
- 3.5 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
- Fine sea salt
- 1.5 cups chopped onion
- 3 cups thinly sliced leeks (white and pale green parts only; from about 2 large leeks)
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
Dumpling Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese
- 6 tbsp (3/4 stick) butter, at room temperature, divided
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- Pinch of fresh ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
For Soup: Bring 2 cups water and dried porcinis to boil in small saucepan. Remove from heat, cover, and soak 20 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove mushrooms from liquid and slice thinly, reserving cooking liquid.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; stir 30 seconds. Add crimini mushrooms and thyme; sprinkle with sea salt and sauté until mushrooms are browned, stirring often, about 12 minutes. Set mushroom mixture aside.
Heat remaining oil in another heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook until translucent and beginning to brown, stirring often, about 6 minutes. Add leeks; reduce heat to medium, sprinkle with sea salt, and sauté until vegetables are soft and golden, stirring often, about 15 minutes.
Bring broth to simmer in large pot over medium-high heat. Pour in reserved mushroom cooking liquid, leaving sediment behind. Add all mushrooms, onion mixture, and cayenne. Simmer 1 minute to heat through. Season to taste with salt.
For Dumplings: Puree cottage cheese in mini processor until smooth. Using electric mixer, beat 3 tbsp butter and eggs in medium bowl. Add cottage cheese, 1/2 cup flour, 1 teaspoon sea salt, and nutmeg; beat on low speed just to blend. Stir in 1/2 cup flour and cheese.
Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Using teaspoon, scoop piece of dough about size of cherry. Holding spoon just above boiling water, use second spoon to push dough into water. Working quickly, repeat about 10 more times. When dumplings rise to surface, simmer until cooked through, 2.5 to 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer dumplings to large plate. Repeat with remaining dough.
Melt 3 tbsp butter in large skillet over medium heat. Working in 2 batches, add dumplings to skillet. Cook until brown in spots, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Pour soup over dumplings in bowl and serve. Enjoy!
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I really like your version, especially incorporating cottage cheese into the dumplings. I have never browned dumplings before but can see where it would kick them upto a new level!