Knoephla Soup

• 1 32 oz. carton chicken broth/stock
• 1/2 small onion, minced
• 2 carrots, sliced thinly
• Celery seed, just a few shakes
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 small potatoes (or 1 large), diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup chopped rotisserie or other cooked chicken (optional)
• 1-2 tsp. chicken base
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 2 cups heavy cream (half & half or milk work too, but this is nice and rich)
• 1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
• 2 tsp. butter

Knoephla Dough:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. salt

In a stock pot or large sauce pan, combine onions, carrots, celery seed, bay leaf, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. In the meantime, dice potatoes. Soak them in water so they don’t change color.

Mix up the knoephla dough in a medium mixing bowl. It might still be a little sticky. By this time, the carrots and onions should be softened. Add 4 cups of water to the pot.   Drain the potatoes and add them to the soup. Return to a low boil. 

Flour hands and work surface. Sprinkle flour over the dough if it’s too sticky. Take chunks of dough, roll between your two hands, forming ropes. Flour your hands as needed. Cut ropes into small pieces using scissors. Let the pieces drop right into the pot of boiling broth.  Continue doing this until all of your dough has been used up. Continue to cook until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.

Turn down the heat to low. Remove the bayleaf and add chicken (optional), pepper, chicken base, (add enough to suit your taste), parsley, butter, and cream. Do not let it boil after adding cream.  

 Let it sit on the burner for 30 minutes or so before serving. It gets better with time. 

 This is a delicious heartwarming soup served by Germans from Russia.