Ulster Vegetable Soup with Bacon Dumplings

I know what you're thinking. Vegetable soup. Bo-ring! I have to tell you...this really hit the spot on a day like today with crappy weather. The tarragon makes this whole dish work, and well, bacon doesn't hurt anything. Best of all, no real fuss to throw this together.

This serves two as a dinner main course or four as a small soup starter. Good, fresh veg tastes fantastic in this soup. The recipe is from Great British Menu (Richard Corrigan from Ireland). I hope you try this on the next rainy, windy day.

600 ml vegetable stock
small bunch of fresh thyme
olive oil
50 g onion, chopped
1 ½ garlic cloves, chopped
2 carrots, neatly chopped
1 celery stick, neatly chopped
1 courgette, neatly chopped
1 small leek, neatly chopped
pepper
freshly grated Parmesan to serve
DUMPLINGS
4 rashers of good unsmoked bacon
olive oil
50 g finely chopped onion
1 large garlic clove, chopped
25 g parsley, chopped
25 g tarragon, chopped

First make the dumplings. Cut the rind off the bacon rashers; reserve the rinds for the soup. Mince the bacon very finely in a food processor - if the bacon is minced too coarsely it will not roll into dumplings and bind properly and the dumplings will break up. Transfer to a bowl.

Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan, add the onion and garlic and sweat over a low heat until soft but not coloured. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley and tarragon. Leave to cool, then add to the minced bacon. Season to taste with pepper. Roll the mixture into walnut-sized dumplings, pressing firmly together. Keep covered in the fridge until ready to use.

For the soup, put the vegetable stock in a saucepan and add the bacon rinds and thyme. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain.

Heat a little olive oil in the saucepan, add the onion and garlic and saute over a moderate heat for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the carrots and saute for 2 minutes. Add the celery and courgette and saute for another 2 minutes. Finally, add the leek and saute for 2 more minutes. Pour the stock into the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 7-8 minutes or until the vegetables are just tender but still a little crunchy.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the dumplings. Return to the heat and bring the soup almost to the boil. Simmer gently for 7 minutes.

Check the seasoning, then serve, sprinkled with Parmesan.