Another grey day, another pot of soup

Lately, I don’t quite know what season it is. The weather will look promising, with slightly warm temperatures and the small promise of sunshine, only to turn flighty and snow a day or two later. In this kind of weather, I need soup. When I’m not sure what to expect, soup seems like a good solution!

I have my standard soups, ones that I can make without thinking or looking at a recipe. They are the ones that I count on week to week. Then there are the clean-up soups, the ones that I make when I need to use something up. Sometimes there is a recipe, other times it is more of a frantic need to use something up before it goes to waste. Last week it was a small basket of potatoes, sending out spindly sprouts. So into the pot they go, with a little of whatever else I might find that sounds complimentary.

But sometimes, I want a soup that I don’t want think about. I don’t want to worry if the flavor of the spices is balanced against the vegetables I’ve already added. These soups are a little fancier than what I make every day – maybe they have toppings or additions, or better yet, dumplings!

Doesn’t everyone have a favorite food memory involving dumplings? I don’t exactly remember what kind of soup my mom would make with her dumplings, but I do remember the dumplings – the soft, steamy dollops of dough, one per bowl for Tina and I. I’m pretty sure we’d both eat around them, slurping up the soup, savoring the dumpling for the very last. Tina always was a better hold out for her favorite part of the meal, so I’m quite sure her bowl would have been perfectly clean except for the dumpling. I never had that much resolve. And while I would make efforts to save my favorite bits for last, I know I would have dug into my dumpling long before Tina.

I can’t quite say when the last time I had a dumpling was, but when I found this recipe with cauliflower and dumplings, I was already on my way to the stove! There is always a head of cauliflower buried somewhere in my fridge. And everything else in this recipe is pretty standard. But what I loved most was the dumplings – they were tiny, almost like little spaetzle. Irresistible!

This soup comes together quickly and the tiny dumplings cook in a flash, perfect for a weeknight meal. And while I think you could likely swap vegetables for what you have on hand, the cauliflower as the main element is delicious! And the paprika adds a delicious warm flavor to everything. Just don’t wait too long to try it!

Karfiolleves, or Paprika-Spiced Cauliflower Soup

From Andrea Németh’s recipe in Saveur

Serves 4

1/3 cup flour
½ tsp. salt
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1 egg
1 ½ tbsp. Hungarian hot paprika
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
6 cups vegetable stock
1 small head cauliflower, large stem removed, cut into bite-size florets
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, stemmed and finely chopped

1. To make the dumplings: In a bowl, mix the flour and salt, then add 2 tablespoons butter. Use your fingers to rub the butter into flour until pea-size crumbles form. Gently whisk the egg and stir it into the flour mixture until a dough forms. Pop this mixture into the refrigerator until ready to use.

2. Heat remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add paprika and onion, and stir, cooking them until soft, about 5 minutes. Add vegetable stock, cauliflower and carrot. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

3. To make the dumplings, use a ½-tsp. measuring spoon to portion out the dough. Drop all of the dumpling dough into simmering soup and cook, stirring gently, until the dumplings are cooked through, about 3 minutes.

4. To serve, ladle soup and dumplings into serving bowls, and garnish with parsley.