Nondairy “Dairy Delicious” Soup With Dumplings Image by Moshe Wullinger

If you grew up in the Five Towns in the 1990s you understand why this soup, which is absolutely pareve, is called “the Dairy Delicious” soup. Although every family I knew had a different name for that restaurant, its onion rolls, rice and cheese, and perogies were Five Towns’ staples, along with their famous soups! Long gone, the memories of those dishes stand strong for both [my husband] Eli and myself. That in and of itself is something, since Eli and I do not agree on almost anything food-related! So a few years ago we set out to recreate one of our favorite soups, the vegetable soup! It sounds crazy to think that a vegetable soup could get kids in the 90s so excited, but it was, well, delicious (if you’re sensing a theme here, then you’re catching on). After a lot of crowdsourcing, and picking the brains of others who grew up with a deep love of this soup, we finally recreated it in a way that satisfied both of us. Its creamy texture from the dumplings adds richness and the vegetables add flavor and body.

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 large celery stalks, peeled, diced
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch rounds
2 tsp + 1 Tbsp kosher salt, divided
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp flour
5 large potatoes, peeled cut into 1¾ inch chunks
2 cups frozen, finely chopped cauliflower
2 cups frozen string beans (I use haricot vert)
10 cups water

1. Heat a large pot over medium heat.

   

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2. Add oil, onion, celery, carrot, 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the veggies have softened and are translucent but have not browned.

3. Add garlic powder and flour; stir to combine.

4. Add remaining ingredients and remaining tablespoon salt; stir to combine. Raise heat to high; bring soup to a boil.

5. Reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, for 1 hour.

6. Uncover; continue to cook, stirring every so often, until soup has slightly reduced and thickened.

7. Meanwhile, prep and cook dumplings; add to the soup.

8. Turn up heat; bring soup back to a boil.

9. At this point you can serve or you can cover and leave over lowest heat to keep warm! Serve hot and enjoy.

For the dumplings:

3 eggs
1½ tsp kosher salt
1 cup room temp water
2½ cups flour

1. In a bowl, whisk together eggs and salt until slightly foamy.

2. Add water; whisk again.

3. Add flour; stir with a spoon to create a thick batter.

4. Bring the soup up to a boil 20 minutes before serving.

5. With a spoon, scoop up about 2 tablespoons of dough.

6. Use a second spoon to scrape teaspoons of batter from the spoon right into the boiling soup. Repeat with remaining dough.

7. After dumplings float to the top, cook for 3-4 minutes, serve the soup, and enjoy!

*If you make the soup in advance, I recommend cooking the dumplings in salted boiling water and only adding them to the soup pot 15 minutes before serving! To do that, set a medium pot of water over high heat. Meanwhile prep dumplings as above. Add 1 teaspoon salt to the boiling water. Using two spoons, as above, drop little scoops of dough into the boiling water. Once they float to the top, allow to cook for 1 minute, use a slotted spoon to transfer to a container until serving the soup.

Excerpted from “Peas Love and Carrots” by Danielle Renov. Copyright 2020 by ArtScroll Mesorah Publications, photos by Moshe Wulliger. Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. All rights reserved.

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