Supă cu Găluște de Gris (Chicken Soup with Semolina Dumplings)
Local name: Supă cu găluște de gris
In short: Clear chicken and vegetable soup with soft semolina dumplings and fresh dill, the Romanian Sunday soup that every family knows. It takes about 1 h 45 min in total and makes 6 servings.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 1 h 15 min
- Resting
- 25 min
- Total
- 1 h 45 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 205 kcal
Supă cu găluște is the Sunday soup of many Romanian homes: a clear, golden chicken broth with carrots and tiny dumplings made from semolina and egg. The dumplings swell in the simmering broth and turn light and soft, almost like little clouds. Unlike a ciorbă, the soup is not sour, only warming and herby with fresh dill. It is also the first soup many children learn to love.
Instructions
- Put the chicken in a large pot and cover with the cold water. Bring to a boil and skim off the foam. Add the onion, carrots, parsnip, celery, peppercorns, bay leaf and salt.
- Simmer gently for about 1 hour, until the chicken reaches 74°C (165°F) and is very tender.
- While the soup simmers, beat the egg and soft butter in a bowl until creamy. Stir in the semolina, salt and dill. Cover and rest for 20 to 25 minutes, until it thickens into a soft, scoopable dough. Add a spoonful of warm water if it turns stiff.
- Lift the chicken and vegetables out of the pot and strain the broth into a clean pot. Slice the carrots and shred the chicken, discarding skin and bones. Return both to the broth and bring to a gentle simmer.
- With two wet teaspoons, shape the dough into 24 small ovals and drop them into the barely simmering soup. They sink first, then float.
- Cover and simmer very gently for 12 minutes, without boiling hard, until the dumplings have doubled in size and are cooked through. Taste the soup and adjust the salt.
- Ladle into bowls and scatter with parsley and dill.
Tips
- Keep the soup at a gentle simmer once the dumplings go in. A hard boil can break them apart and cloud the broth.
- For the clearest broth, cook the dumplings in a separate pot of salted water for 12 minutes, then add them to the bowls with a ladleful of hot broth.
Questions and answers
Why did my semolina dumplings fall apart?
Usually the dough was too wet or the soup boiled too hard. Let the dough rest so the semolina swells, and keep the broth at a gentle simmer.
Can I make the soup ahead of time?
Make the broth up to 3 days ahead, but cook the dumplings fresh. They keep soaking up liquid, so they turn soft and swollen if stored in the soup.
Can I use regular flour instead of semolina?
Semolina gives the traditional soft, slightly grainy bite. Fine farina is the closest substitute, while flour makes a denser dumpling.
How long does it take to make Supă cu Găluște de Gris (Chicken Soup with Semolina Dumplings)?
About 1 h 45 min in total: 30 min of preparation and 1 h 15 min of cooking.
How many calories are in Supă cu Găluște de Gris (Chicken Soup with Semolina Dumplings)?
About 205 kcal per serving, with 18 g of protein, 17 g of carbohydrates and 7 g of fat. These values are estimates.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 205 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 18 g |
| Carbohydrates | 17 g |
| Fat | 7 g |
| Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Sodium | 850 mg |
Estimated values, calculated from the ingredients.
