A First-- Dilly Stew with Rosemary Dumplings

I polished off my eggplant peanut soup this evening, so started in on pot of Dilly Stew with Rosemary Dumplings. This is a first for me—the first time that I’ve made a soup with dumplings, biscuits, or any similarly doughy addition. I’ve been intrigued by this concept for a long time, but never could be bothered with what I assumed was an arduous process to make dumplings. This recipe appealed to me for a few reasons:

1.     Dill is one of my favorite herbs, and it is closely followed by rosemary and thyme (in that order).

2.     I had baby carrots in my fridge that had seen better days, and wanted to use them up… yet I didn’t have enough for a carrot based soup.

3.     The dumplings in the photo on the site inspired me to enter the wonderful world of dumpling dishes… once and for all!

Although this dish is mostly for lunches/dinners this week, I couldn’t resist trying a ramekin full this evening, with a baby dumpling topping the dish. I made it exactly as the recipe instructed, or at least to the best of my ability to do so (and given the quantity of olive oil in the recipe this is unusual…). A few comments:

1.     Dumpling making is actually not difficult at all. It was about as challenging as making pancakes, and it was fun to drop them into the hot stew and then open up the lid 14 minutes later to see how they had expanded. They sort of remind me of those gross toys that my brother used to have—the ones that start out as little itty bit clumps, and then soak in water and turn into a gooey alligator. I realize that’s not a very appetizing analogy, but they really did grow like those creatures!

2.     The full amount of olive oil (3 Tbl in the stew itself, and then another 2 in the biscuit dough) was too much for me. The soup itself actually tasted too greasy for my taste (and that’s saying something—I’m not one to shy away from olive oil). Next time I’ll see how I can make the roux with less olive oil. Anytime there’s a roux I’m hesitant to mess with the ‘formula’- it seems more risky than just omitting some of the oil in a standard sauté base.

3.     The potatoes take a backseat to the carrots and celery in this recipe--- and I wonder if I could omit them next time. They may contribute to the stew-like consistency with their starch (?), but they didn’t do much for the flavor.

4.     That being said, I think that I’d like to add green cabbage to this soup next time (perhaps in place of the potatoes). I thought that I had seen cabbage in the photo of the dish on the PPK blog, so in my head it had cabbage. I also think that cabbage and dill go nicely together--- (and it also goes with carrots, celery and onions). Not sure about cabbage and white beans, but it can’t be a horrible combination, can it?

5.     The dumplings were cooler to watch/make than they were to eat. Now, I’m certainly not dismissing all dumplings, I just think that I’ll have to try different recipes now that I’ve gotten over my fear of the dumpling. The flavor of these was just fine, but the texture was a bit more goopy than I was imagining/wanting. Granted, I don’t actually think that I’ve ever eating a traditional dumpling in a soup before (maybe they are supposed to be that way??)—so I have little/no comparison. The closest thing I’ve had before are matzo balls, which have a lighter, fluffier texture than these things (and, it should be noted, are one of the world’s most delicious foods…).

In any case, the flavor of the soup itself, with the fresh herbs is quite good. The dumplings are a success in the sense that they have helped me get over my fear of making dumplings—so I’m happy with my result. I’ve calculated this soup as 6 servings, so I’ll be eating it for the rest of the week (though Mike did comment that it ‘looks good…’—so hopefully he’ll help me eat it too…). Since this soup is a bit higher on the fat/carbs that I’m used to, I’ll welcome his help getting through it!

***UPDATE***
I do not care for this soup. I think that it is because it is more of a stew than a soup, and the flavors are a bit too rich for me. The rosemary dumplings have a strange soapy taste to me (too much rosemary perhaps??), and the soup/stew base itself is just a bit much. That said, I'm not giving up on dumpling altogether (it was the flavor of these particular ones--- not the texture--- that was off). And, on a positive note, Mike liked this stuff too! Something about my new soup adventure is making him more apt to try new things than is typical- I like it!