one pot creamy potato vegetable and sage dumpling soup
Dairy-free, vegan-friendly, one-pot, an hour or less, insert additional buzz words here…
(But not gluten free. Sorry.)
Alright, kids, it was 62 at the time of writing this and absolutely stunning. Quite breezy, too. This time of year is my favorite for running and unfortunately my eagerness to head outside got the best of me, so I embarked on my first run since Chicago. I told myself I’d be a good lady and wait a proper two weeks, but, well, I’m flawed. With Florida’s weather reverting to normal idiocy later in the week and probably for the discernible future, I couldn’t pass up this glorious front.
I had the perfect morning, really. Got up, slurped down some pre-workout, run/walked for 35 minutes, strolled home, lifted upper body, and hunkered inside in my bathrobe with a cup of protein-infused hot cocoa. I find this type of routine more invigorating than dripping off a humid summer morning. My mood improves substantially when the weather cools off. I think there’s quite a bit of truth in wintertime lending improved quality of life, at least in places where it’s not constantly dreary but rather resembles autumn when summer decides to slumber.
I needed to document my early hour adventures because I find them rather precious. A quality morning usually yields to a nice day, and I treasure these periods because I don’t always have them.
Cold where you are? Warm up with this soup. Not cold where you are? Warm up your cold soul with this soup. A win-win no matter what.
Mirepoixjfugh…Huh?
Mirepoix is the traditional, basic-ass soup base of carrots, onion, and celery. You can buy the combo pre-diced (I do sometimes when I’m lazy) or create your own rather easily. This soup utilizes mirepoix for a rich, intense flavor heightened even more by vegetable broth and woodsy herbs, and mellowed with potatoes and coconut milk.
The potatoes are very important to keeping this soup lighter in calories and dairy-free. Not only do we get a boost of potassium and carbs, but the pureed potatoes render a very thick, creamy soup base. A splash of coconut milk closes out the concert.
For this soup, start with a quick saute of the mirepoix, then add garlic, sage, rosemary and thyme. Stir for an additional minute until fragrant. Pour in vegetable broth or water and potatoes. Heat to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are very tender and break apart when shanked with a fork.
Lil Dumpling
Get your immersion blender. I’ll just pretend you have one now after all of my nonsponsored chanting and raving. Blend the soup until nice and uniformly thick. A few chunks are okay if you like the texture mixup.
(FINE. If you don’t have an immersion blender, scoop portions at a time into a regular blender and whiz until smooth. Repeat until all of the soup is pureed.)
The dumplings are the only portion of this recipe not vegan, but you can alter that simply by chucking the parmesan out the window and creating a vegan buttermilk. I do the latter quite often: equal amount of plant-based milk plus 1 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar. Let the mix sit until it congeals, about 10 minutes.
Then, whisk together some flour, baking powder, chopped sage, salt, and grated parmesan (if using). Dig a well in the center of the dry ingredients and start pumping your drinking water (just kidding). Rather, pour in about 1 cup of the buttermilk and stir. If you need more, the recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups, so call upon your reserve a tablespoon at a time until a wet but cohesive dough forms.
Drop 1 tablespoon-sized balls of dough into the simmering soup. They can be rather wonky-shaped and I got 9 out of my batch. Cover and cook 8-10 minutes until suddenly humongous and firm when tapped with a spoon. Seriously, the amount they poof up is otherworldly.
Move the dumplings to the side of the pot (or remove completely if your pot is small) and stir in the coconut milk. If you took the dumplings out, set them back onto their bed.
I served the soup as is, but baguette is never a bad idea, and a nice glass of cabernet sounds comforting. Or a little side salad, like the one in my Fall 2021 guide. Chicken and dumplings is traditional, and you can add some shredded rotisserie into the recipe if you want.
Honestly, if you have a cold or some unsightly sniffles, this soup is really perfect for clearing out the sinuses and soothing the ickies brought up by a virus. Not medical advice, just a friendly homemaker anecdote.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
More soup for the heart:
Tomato Parmesan Soup with Crunchy Basil Chickpeas
Winter Detox Vegetable Noodle Soup
Potato Leek Soup Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Boats
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 1/2 cup diced carrots
- 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
- 4 tsp fresh sage, chopped
- 2 lb russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 6 cups vegetable broth or water
- 1/2 cup canned full fat coconut milk, or heavy cream
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (omit for vegan)
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or pot. Saute the carrot, onion, and celery for 4-5 minutes until soft and fragrant. Stir in the garlic for 1 minute, then add 2 tsp sage, rosemary, and thyme and stir to combine. Dump in the potatoes and pour the broth or water overtop. Bring to a boil, then lower to a heavy simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are very soft and break apart when stabbed with a fork.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until very smooth, thick, and creamy. If needed, add 1/2-1 cup of broth or water if it seems too thick. Alternatively, if you've still ignored me this far into our friendship, transfer batches of soup to a blender and carefully blitz until creamy. Add back to the pot and repeat until all the soup is pureed. Taste for salt and pepper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, parmesan, the remaining 2 tsp of sage, and a pinch of salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and slowly stream in 1 cup of buttermilk. Stir until a cohesive but sticky dough forms. You may not need all of the buttermilk.
- Drop 1 tablespoon sized dollops of dumpling batter straight into the soup. Cover and simmer 8-10 minutes until the dumplings aggressively blow up into floury balloons and feel hollow when tapped. Move to one side of the pot and gently stir in the coconut milk. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with fresh herbs.
