Kuryacha Yushka z Halushkamy (куряча юшка з галушками, chicken dumpling soup)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A big modern stockpot, at least 6 litres
• •A fine sieve
• •A wide pan for the zasmazhka
• •Two teaspoons for pinching halushky

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the broth

   Put the chicken in a big stockpot with the cold water. Bring it up slowly, so the pot has time to give you its grey foam, then skim that foam away with a spoon. Add the halved onion, carrot pieces, parsley root if using, bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt. Keep the broth at a quiet tremble, not a rolling boil, until the chicken smells sweet and cooked through and the meat loosens when you tug it with a fork.

   A clear yushka starts with cold water and a gentle pot. If it boils hard, don't panic, it will still feed you, but the broth will be cloudier.
2. 2

   Strain and shred

   Lift the chicken onto a tray and strain the broth through a sieve into a clean pot. Discard the spent vegetables and spices. Pull the chicken meat from the bones in generous pieces, not tiny shreds, and return enough meat to the pot for a crowded soup. Taste the broth now. It should be savory, clean, and a little under-salted because the dumplings will drink from it.

3. 3

   Add the potatoes

   If you're using potatoes, slide them into the clear broth and simmer until they yield when pressed against the side of the pot. They should soften without breaking into the soup. No potatoes is fine too; the halushky already make the bowl complete.

4. 4

   Make the zasmazhka

   Warm the sunflower oil or skimmed chicken fat in a wide pan. Add the diced onion and let it soften slowly until translucent, then add the grated carrot and cook until the carrot relaxes and the fat turns golden-orange. You're not browning. You're coaxing sweetness. Stir the zasmazhka into the soup near the end so it sits brightly on the broth instead of flattening into it.

   This is the one why that matters here: late zasmazhka keeps the soup lively. Early zasmazhka disappears into stock.
5. 5

   Mix the halushky

   Beat the eggs with the water or cooled broth and the fine salt. Stir in the flour until you have a thick, sticky batter that holds on the spoon but still drops with a little persuasion. If it runs like pancake batter, add a spoonful more flour. If it stands like bread dough, loosen it with a splash of broth. Halushky forgive you if you keep them soft.

6. 6

   Drop the dumplings

   Bring the soup to a lively simmer. Dip a teaspoon into the hot broth, then pinch small pieces of batter from the spoon straight into the pot. Keep them small, they swell. Stir once, gently, so nothing sticks to the bottom. When the halushky float and look puffed through, tear one open; the middle should be soft and cooked, not floury.

7. 7

   Finish with dill

   Turn off the heat and stir in most of the dill. Taste again for salt and black pepper. Let the pot stand for a few minutes so the dumplings settle into the broth and the dill perfumes the top. Serve in deep bowls with more dill, black pepper, and smetana if your table wants it.

Chef Tips

• •Use bone-in chicken. Breast meat alone gives you water with manners, not yushka.
• •The dumpling batter should be sticky and soft. Too much flour makes hard little stones, and nobody came to the table for that comedy.
• •If you have leftover roast chicken, make the broth from the carcass and add the picked meat at the end. A bit more modern, completely useful.
• •Dill goes in at the end, never at the beginning. Boiled dill loses its green shout.
• •For a southern-steppe table, serve this with fermented tomatoes or cucumbers alongside. In August we'd be drowning in fresh ones; in January we open a jar instead.

Advance Preparation

• •The broth can be made a day ahead, strained, and chilled. The fat will set on top; skim some for a cleaner soup or use it for the zasmazhka.
• •Cook the halushky on the day you serve. Leftovers are still good, but the dumplings swell as they sit and make the soup thicker.
• •The finished soup keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat gently so the dumplings don't break apart.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 520g)