2carcasses of smoked birds, grouse or pheasant or chicken
4bay leaves
3quartswater
salt
DUMPLINGS
1cupall-purpose flour
1/2cuprye, spelt, barley or whole wheat flour
1/2teaspoonsalt
1/4teaspoonground mace or nutmeg
1/4teaspoonwhite pepper
1/2teaspoonbaking powder
1egg
6tablespoonsmilk
SOUP
2tablespoonsbutter or bacon fat
2carrots, peeled and diced
2celery stalks, diced
1cupschopped white or yellow onion
1/2 to 1 cupheavy cream
3tablespoonschopped parsley
Instructions
BROTH
Break or chop up the carcasses of the chicken, grouse, pheasant or whatever into large pieces. Put in a large pot, add the water and bay leaves, cover and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently for 2 hours, or until the meat on the legs and wings wants to fall off the bone.
Remove the carcasses and pick off all the meat. Reserve this. Strain the broth. You'll need at least 1 quart. Set that aside, too.
DUMPLINGS
Get a large pot of water boiling. Add a healthy pinch of salt.
Put the flours, salt, spices and baking powder in a bowl and mix well. Add the egg and milk, mix well until you get a shaggy dough. Knead this until it all comes together, then roll it out into a log about the width of your pinkie finger.
Slice off little dumplings and drop them into the boiling water. It will drop to a simmer. This is what you want, not a rolling boil, so adjust the heat. Let the knoephla cook until they bob on the surface, then 1 minute more. Remove them and lay them out on a baking sheet. Toss with a little oil if you want to prevent them from sticking each other.
SOUP
Heat the butter or bacon fat in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and sauté for about 5 minutes; you want everything to soften, but not brown.
Add the picked meat, as much of the broth as you want -- I use a bit more than a quart -- and let this simmer until all the vegetables are nicely cooked, about 15 minutes. Add the dumplings and cream and cook gently for another 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley, some black pepper and serve.