This is an easy and great way to use your sourdough discard. The tomato soup is simple to make from scratch, doesn't involve a lot of weird ingredients, and is hearty enough to serve for a main dish supper. The dumplings, in addition to the sourdough tang, get a boost of flavor from grated Parmesan cheese and Italian herbs. I use white whole-wheat flour for the dumplings, which makes them a bit denser but more nutritious than using all-purpose flour in the dumpling batter. If you'd like to go the traditional route (and have lighter dumplings) use all-purpose flour. I also use pre-cooked Italian chicken sausages in the soup, which give the soup extra flavor and protein without a lot of extra fat. The sausages are comparatively cheap from places like Aldi and Lidl, which keeps the soup inexpensive. The soup reheats well for lunches later in the week. Enjoy!
Sourdough Dumplings With Tomato and Chicken Sausage Soup -- Serves 4
Dumplings
1 cup of sourdough starter/discard
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of white whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
Mix all the ingredients listed above in a large bowl and let the mixture sit for a few hours (I usually leave the mixture for 4-6 hours, and it's fine). The mixture probably will rise a bit, and that's fine. When you're ready to drop the dumplings in the soup, mix in:
1/2 cup of white whole-wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder (optional, and no need to use unless your starter/discard is really weak/immature--I usually don't bother with the baking powder)
Drop the dumplings into the gently boiling soup by teaspoonfuls. Use one teaspoon to scoop and one to scrape the dumplings into the soup. You also can use a soup spoon to scoop/scrape if you want slightly larger dumplings and/or don't want to stand over your soup pot forever dropping in dough (hence some of the bigger dumplings you see in the photos). Let the dumplings cook in the soup for about 20 minutes or until they have puffed up, risen to the top of the soup, and are fairly soft when you cut into them or stick them with a knife.
Tomato-Sausage Soup
1 - 2 teaspoons of olive oil
1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
2 - 3 teaspoons of chopped garlic
3 - 5 sliced or chopped cooked Italian-style chicken sausages
28-ounce can of tomato puree
1 28-ounce can of water
1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
1 teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper or to taste
Extra grated Parmesan cheese and chopped/torn fresh basil to top the soup (optional, but really good)
In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and add the onion. Saute the onion for a few minutes until it begins to soften. Add the garlic and chicken sausages and saute them with the onion for a few minutes. Stir in the tomato puree, the water, dried basil, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and partially cover the pan. Let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes to blend the flavors. Remove the lid and bring the soup back to a gentle boil. Drop in the dumplings, then partially cover the pot again and let the soup simmer gently for another 20 minutes or so until the dumplings are tender and the soup reduces a little in volume (the dumplings will thicken the soup a bit). Serve the soup topped with grated Parmesan cheese and some chopped or torn fresh basil if you have it.
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