Vegetable Paprikash Soup

Maybe I was the only person ridiculously excited about watching the remake of the Sound of Music on TV a few weeks ago... it felt like that... but I was excited enough that I decided to cook an Austrian/Hungarian/German feast for dinner that night to celebrate.  I was singing the songs in my head all week, and even gave my students the option to watch it in exchange for a no homework deal.  Needless to say, I was pumped.  I spent lots of time while I was bored in the waiting room at my doctor's office looking up recipes, and I decided to make vegetable paprikash soup.  Yeah, I know, that's Hungarian, which isn't exactly Sound of Music setting, but close enough (didn't they use to call it Austria-Hungary!?)  I also made spaetzle, which I ended up adding to the soup, but you will have to wait for that recipe till the next recipe post :)

I can't say enough how awesome this soup is.  I very happily ate it for lunch all week, along with my mother.  It's flavored with paprika - obviously - and sour cream, and full of vegetables like corn, carrots, potatoes, and peas.  It was so flavorful and exotic.  Add the spaetzle to it and you've got yourself an amazing dinner.  The original recipe recommends adding homemade herb dumplings; since I was making the spaetzle, I didn't make the dumplings, but I am fairly certain that they would be just as exquisite.

Again, I was probably the only person who was excited to watch the movie, because everyone ended up leaving the house except for my mom, so we were the only two to eat this meal, along with Mark. But all three of us gave it rave reviews.  Alex and Rachael came home later and tried it, and even Alex had seconds and said that it was very good.  I will definitely be making some paprikash soup in my near future!

Recipe:

vegetable paprikash soup
from Rolling in the Dough
serves 6

Ingredients:
paprikash soup:
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
1 cup peas or green beans (frozen is fine)
1 cup corn (frozen is fine again)
4 - 6 cups vegetable stock
1 cup sour cream

herb dumpings:
1 potato, peeled, chopped, steamed until tender
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, or 2 tablespoons dried
up to 1 cup whole what pastry flour

Instructions:

1) In a large pot, sauté the onion in olive oil over medium heat until onion begins to soften and brown.  Add salt, paprika, and pepper, and continue browning until a darker golden color.  Add carrot, potato, peas/beans, and corn, and lightly sauté for less than a minute before adding the vegetable stock.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.  Simmer, uncovered, for about 1 hour.

2) Make the dumplings: mash steamed potatoes with a rover or pastry blender.  Add egg and seasonings and mix well.  Add flour until dough is fairly stiff but still a little tacky.  Dust your hands with flour and knead the dough a little more in the bowl or on a floured counter.  Allow to rest 15 - 30 minutes, then pat out into a square and cut into small pieces.

3) Bring pot of water to boil.  Add dumplings to the water and simmer gently until they float to the top, from 4 to 7 minutes.  Lift dumplings out with a slotted spoon, transfer to a buttered plate, and continue with remaining dumplings.  Set aside.

4) Add the sour cream to the soup, one large dollop at a time, and whisk into the soup.  If the soup os too thin, add more sour cream.  When ready to serve, float dumplings in each bowl as you serve it.  You can also add the dumplings to the soup and allow them to warm up before serving.