Danish Chicken Soup with Dumplings (Hønsekødsuppe)
Overview
Hønsekødsuppe is the classic Danish chicken soup, a clear golden broth served with two kinds of dumplings. A boiling hen is simmered for hours with onion, celery and herbs to make a rich stock. Melboller are soft dumplings of flour, butter, milk and egg, cooked like choux paste and dropped from a spoon into the broth, and kødboller are small meatballs of minced pork. Diced carrot, leek and celeriac are cooked in the soup, and some of the chicken meat is served in it too. It is a favourite family dish for cold days and is often cooked at birthdays and Christmas.
History
The dish is often called suppe, kød og boller, or soup, meat and balls, because in old Danish homes the soup came first and the boiled chicken followed with horseradish or white sauce. Making both kinds of boller by hand is an old tradition, and many families still prepare them together. Ready-made melboller and kødboller are sold in Danish supermarkets.
Main ingredients
Boiling hen, flour dumplings (melboller), meatballs (kødboller), carrot, leek, celeriac. The soup is built on clear chicken broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; not usually gluten-free.
Explore: Chicken soups · Leek soups
Recipe
Method
- 12 h
Simmer the hen with the onion, herbs and spices in 3 l water for 2 hours, then strain and keep the meat.
- 2
Melt the butter in the water, beat in the flour until smooth, cool slightly and beat in the eggs.
- 3
Mix the pork, egg, onion, flour and salt and shape small meatballs.
- 4
Poach spoonfuls of the dough and the meatballs in the broth until they float.
- 510 min
Add the diced vegetables and some chicken and simmer for 10 minutes.
- ✓
Serve. About 3h 10m from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
