German Pea Soup with Egg Dumplings (Erbsensuppe mit Eierschwämmchen)

Ingredients

• 6 oz bacon (, diced)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium yellow onion (, finely chopped)
• 10 cups beef broth
• 14 oz frozen peas
• 1 smoked ham hock
• 2 large carrots (, peeled and sliced)
• 1 large leek (, sliced, rinsed and drained)
• 1 small celery root (, aka celeriac, peeled and diced)
• 2 medium potatoes (, diced)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• Some chopped fresh parsley for garnish
• For the Dumplings:
• 1/4 cup butter (, melted and at room temperature)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

1. 1

   In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, fry the bacon until done. Add the butter and onions and cook until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 90 minutes. Remove the ham hock and bay leaf.

2. 2

   Before the soup is done, making the dumplings: Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Combine all the ingredients in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on "2" (bread setting) for 8-10 minutes. Use a small spoon to scoop about 2 teaspoon's worth of dough at a time and drop the dumplings into the the boiling water. The dumplings will float to the bottom. Once the dumplings have floated to the top let them simmer another 5 minutes and then use a slotted spoon to remove them and add them to the soup. Let the dumplings simmer in the soup for another 5 minutes before serving. Add salt and pepper to the soup according to taste.Serve sprinkled with a little chopped fresh parsley.