The basis of any fabulous tasting soup is home made broth or stock! In making this simple in ingredients and easy to make soup, with minimal seasoning, or seasoning to suit personal preferences, this decadent tasting pot of nourishment turned out to be the ideal warmer for the cold, Autumn, turn of season weather that has just started in South Africa.
The dumplings in this recipe are a blend of almond and tapioca flours, with a touch of the home made chicken stock to blend into a dough, makes this low caloried soup accompaniement both light and delicately soft in the middle. The omission of any oils is deliberate and delivers a homely tasting broth that will indeed have you asking for seconds! Made without the dumplings, it is equally tasty and nourishing and ideal “chicken soup for the soul”, albeit lighter in calories, free from dairy, gluten, grains, and sugar too!
This chicken soup is another make that is on par with the other great tasting winter warmers found in the soups section of this blog.
Ingredients
Chicken Broth / Stock
1kg chicken thighs (bone-in and if preferred, skin-on)
1 medium sized onion, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
5 cups water
1-2 tsp seasoning of choice (preservatives and sugar free – I used dried Italian Seasoning and Thyme)
1-2 tsp Himalayan or Sea salt
½ cup coconut milk (preservatives and sugar free)
2 tblsp tapioca flour
Dumplings
1½ cup almond flour
½ cup tapioca flour
½ – 1 tsp Himalayan or Sea salt
¹/³ cup stock (from the freshly made, as above)
1-2 tblsp fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Here’s How
- To make the broth / stock, add the onions, celery, chicken thighs, seasoning, salt and water into a large stock pot. Cover with the pot lid and cook for an hour on medium stove-top heat.
- Reduce the heat to low and remove the chicken thighs from the stock, stripping the chicken meat off the bones, discarding the bones and returning the meat to the broth / stock.
- In a bowl, mix the coconut milk and tapioca flour until well combined and pour the mixture into the soup pot, mixing until combined. This mixture provides the thickening for this soup.
- To make the dumplings, in a bowl, mix the almond and tapioca flours together, add in the salt. Pour in the one-third cup of broth / stock and mix well until a soft dough consistency is reached.
- Roll out the dough using your hands and break off and shape into 12 small round balls.
- Drop the dumplings into the simmering broth and cook for 15 minutes, pot covered, over medium-low stove top heat.
- Remove the pot from the heat, ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with the chopped parsley and serve.
Enjoy 
