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one ordinary bowl of clear golden turkey soup with exactly two round bread-stuffing dumplings showing small bread, herb and onion flecks, plus diced roast turkey, orange carrot and celery pieces in the broth, with no flat flour dumplings, cream or garnish
Andre Lewis

Turkey and Stuffing Dumpling Soup

Stuffing dumplings need a test before the whole batch goes into the water, because yesterday's bread stuffing can be dry and crumbly or already quite moist. Mix in the eggs and flour, let the mixture rest, then poach one small dumpling to see whether it holds together. The finished texture should be tender and bread-like, with little herb and onion flecks from the stuffing, rather than a smooth flour dumpling. Poach them separately from the turkey soup so a broken test piece doesn't cloud the whole pot. Give each bowl two dumplings and enough clear broth around them to soften their edges without losing the shape you just worked to keep.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups cooked bread stuffing chilled and finely chopped
  • 2 large eggs lightly beaten
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup plain fine breadcrumbs
  • 2 tbsp additional plain fine breadcrumbs reserved if needed
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 small yellow onion finely diced
  • 2 carrots finely diced
  • 2 celery stalks finely diced
  • 6 cups low-sodium turkey broth
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 3 cups cooked roast turkey skin removed and diced
  • 8 cups water for poaching dumplings
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt for poaching water

Method
 

  1. Mix chopped stuffing, eggs, flour and the 1/4 cup breadcrumbs in a bowl just until combined. Refrigerate for 15 minutes so the bread absorbs moisture.
  2. Melt butter in a 6-quart soup pot and cook onion, carrots and celery for 6 minutes. Add turkey broth and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes until vegetables are tender.
  3. Meanwhile, bring poaching water and salt to a very gentle simmer in a wide 4-quart saucepan. Add 1 teaspoon of the dumpling mixture as a test and simmer for 3 minutes to check whether it holds together, then remove and discard that small test piece. If it breaks apart, stir reserved breadcrumbs into the remaining mixture a tablespoon at a time before shaping.
  4. Shape the adjusted mixture into 12 equal balls with damp hands. Lower them into the gently simmering water without crowding, working in 2 batches if needed, and poach for 12 to 15 minutes until firm enough to lift and centers reach 165°F.
  5. While dumplings cook, add turkey to the soup and simmer gently for 5 to 8 minutes until it reaches 165°F. Keep the soup hot without a hard boil.
  6. Lift dumplings with a slotted spoon, place 2 in each bowl and ladle turkey, vegetables and clear broth around them.