Spring sprang, but proved to be a fake-out as often happens here in the fickle northwest. It’s back to being chilly and grey, but no need to let it get you down. Especially not when there’s soup to be had.

I felt like a steaming hot bowl of chicken and dumpling soup… but how about a bit of twist and make an even more nutritious and delicious soup by making *sweet potato* dumplings. Now you’ve got some serious chilly weather comfort food.

Chicken Soup with Herbed Sweet Potato Dumplings

Soup:
2 skinless, bone-in chicken legs
salt and pepper
2 leeks, stemmed and thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 cup onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 stalks celery, minced

Dumplings:
2 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
2 cups flour
1 egg
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat a large (5 quarts or bigger) heavy bottomed stock pot over medium high heat. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the chicken legs. Brown the chicken, about 3-5 minutes each side. Remove and set aside.

In the same pot, saute the leeks, carrot, onion, garlic and celery until golden, about 8 minutes. Add back the chicken and cover with water. Bring to a boil then simmer until chicken is very tender, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the dumplings. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside.

Once chicken is ready, remove it from the soup with tongs and set it aside for a few minutes until it is cool enough to handle. Shred the meat from the bones and discard the bones. Return the chicken meat to the soup and bring the soup up to a boil.

Drop large spoonfuls of the sweet potato batter into the soup being careful not to let them crowd each other too much. Cover the pot and let the dumplings cook for about 8 minutes.

Serve immediately and serve with parsley for garnish, if you like.