Every Croatian Christmas table has a rich soup made with meat, dumplings or noodles, and vegetables. Soups are usually made from chicken or beef, but for Christmas both types of meat are used for richer, festive taste. Meat used for soups has to have bones for that strong, flavorful taste of a home made soup.

This recipe is part of Foodies+ Christmas Recipes from Around the World cookbook, amazing cookbook with over 400 pages that shares many recipes you can use all year round. All proceeds are going to Action Against Hunger.

Ingredients for the soup

serves 10

• 1 kg chicken meat with bones
• 1 kg beef with bones
• 4 medium carrots
• 4 medium parsley roots
• ½ kohlrabi
• ¼ cabbage head
• ¼ kale head
• 1 large onion
• 1 celery root
• 1 potato
• 1 tomato
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3-4 black pepper grains
• salt
• 2 liters of water
• 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley leaves for garnish

Preparation

1. Wash the meat briefly in cold water and place it in a pot of cold water. That way the soup will have stronger flavor.
2. Fry the whole onion on all it’s sides in a dry pan.
3. When the water comes to boil, add cleaned, length cut vegetables, salt, black pepper grains and previously fried onion, all except tomato. Tomato is added when other vegetables become soft.
4. When the soup comes to boil again, set heat to low and let it cook for 2 more hours.
5. Before you strain the soup, add small glass of water and let the soup sit aside for a bit, this way the soup will be clearer.
6. Take the meat out, strain the soup and cook in semolina dumplings.

Along with homemade soup noodles, dumplings are most common addition to Croatian soups. If you don’t have one or the other, soup is considered “empty”. There are three types of dumplings that are made: liver semolina dumplings, simple semolina dumplings and flour dumplings. In the old days when people had their own chickens running around, liver semolina dumplings were more common. These days, you buy chicken without the insides, and simple semolina dumplings are more common.

Ingredients for the dumplings

• 1 egg divided
• 1 tbsp oil
• 4 tbsp semolina
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

Preparation

1. Mix oil and egg yolk until foamy.
2. Add semolina, salt and parsley.
3. Mix egg white until stiff.
4. When all is well combined, stir in gently stiffed egg white.

Make dumplings with teaspoon and put one by one into boiled soup. Cook them for about 15 minutes until they are soft and tender. Watch out not to overcooked them because they will fall apart.

Serving
Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

Do you prepare soups for Holidays? Which one is your favorite?