Tomato Soup With Herb Dumplings Recipes

CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• For the soup: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook stirring until the shallots are well coated. Add the diced tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt, bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the tomatoes have softened about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatin over 1/4 cup water and let sit until soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer the soup, gelatin and cream to a blender. Blend until smooth and pour in to a glass loaf pan. Chill until firm, about 1 hour.
• For the dough: Put the flour in a large bowl. Pour half the hot water in and stir with a wooden spoon. Add the remaining hot water and stir until the dough starts to look shaggy. Add all of the cold water and oil. Keep stirring until the dough forms a ball.
• Knead the dough on a floured surface until soft, smooth and springs back when you poke it with your finger, 8 to 10 minutes. (Alternately, you can knead the dough in a stand mixer with the hook attachment, on medium speed for 6 to 8 minutes.) Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Take 1 piece (cover the remaining 3 pieces with plastic wrap) and cut it into 4 pieces. Work with 1 small piece of dough at a time, keep the remaining covered with plastic wrap. Roll the dough between your palms to make a round, smooth ball. Using a rolling pin, roll into a 4 1/2-to-5-inch circle. (You may need more flour to keep the dough from sticking but try to use it sparingly.)
• Fill the dough with 1 heaping tablespoon of tomato soup filling and then press 1 tomato half into it. Pleat the dumpling: Use your fingers to pleat and pinch the edge of the dough together, enclosing the filling, into a little satchel. Twist and pinch the tip of the dough close. Repeat with rest. Make sure that you cover any dough that you aren't currently using and cover the dumplings with a towel to prevent drying out.
• Fill a large pot with 2-inches of water and insert a steamer basket that has a lid. Line the basket with a single layer of Napa cabbage leaves. Cover and steam over medium heat to warm up the steamer and soften cabbage, about 2 minutes. Place dumplings on the cabbage leaves, leaving 1-inch between each dumpling. Steam until the dough looks slightly translucent and the dumplings have slumped slightly, about 12 minutes. Serve in the steamer.

CREAMY FRESH TOMATO SOUP WITH DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a 2 quart sauce pan over medium high heat.
• Add onions and garlic and sauté until tender, then add tomatoes, and mush them up a bit, and stir.
• Cook over medium heat about 10-15 minutes, until tomatoes are quite soft and breaking down.
• Add water, basil, bouillon cubes, salt and pepper, and sugar.
• Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 20 minutes.
• Near the end of the cooking time, heat half and half or milk so that it is hot.
• Add hot milk to soup and stir.
• Pureé with an arm blender, or do it in batches in a blender.
• Strain soup through a sieve or run it through a food mill to eliminate any peels and seeds that remain.
• Mix egg with about 1/4 cup flour (amount will depend on how firm you like your dumplings) and salt and pepper to taste, until well combined.
• Bring soup to just below boiling and drop in dumplings by very small spoonfuls. Cook about three minutes, or until dumplings float to the surface. Dumplings should be almost like spaetzle, quite small, and soft when cooked.
• Serve hot with chopped fresh basil or toasted croutons as a garnish if desired.