Chicken broth is often served in Hungary with semolina dumplings. Making those fluffy dumplings is always a great challenge because you have to find the fine balance between the dry and wet ingredients in order to make soft, but yet stable dumplings, so they don’t fall apart during cooking.

Everyone has their own technique how to make semolina dumplings. The amount of semolina can be more or less, egg can be separated, or beaten in whole (yolk and white together). Some people leave the mixture to rest for 1-2 hours before cooking (semolina can absorb the liquid and swell), others scoop the dumplings into the soup right after the batter is done. Dumplings can be cooked in the soup (in this case dumplings are much tastier, but soup has to be served immediately, otherwise the dumplings will soak up all the liquid), or in salty water in a separate pot.

The recipe I’ve learnt from my mother may or may not work for you as success depends on the size of the egg and the type and quality of semolina you use. These dumplings hold their shape, but you don’t lose a tooth on biting them. Don’t distress yourself if your dumplings don’t turn out well, everyone has their own failures; you can learn it only with practice. The more often you make semolina dumplings, the more likely the result will be close enough to perfect.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg (approx. 65 g / 2 1/3 oz)
• approx. 70 g (~2 1/2 oz) semolina

Separate the egg. With a fork beat the egg white until soft peaks form. Gently stir in the egg yolk, then add some semolina and stir until fully combined. Keep adding semolina in batches until the mixture looks like below.

Dip a spoon into the simmering soup and scoop up a bit of batter. Immerse it in the soup to let the dumpling slide off your spoon.  Repeat until you use up all the batter. Over low heat cook for 4-5 minutes. Serve immediately otherwise the dumplings will soak up all the liquid.