Norwegian Beef and Dumpling Soup (kjøttsuppe og medboller)
For my Comfort Food Series recipe #2, we are making a Norwegian Beef and Dumpling Soup, also known as kjøttsuppe og medboller.
This is essentially a brothy beef-and-vegetable soup with some cardamom-laced dumplings. The cardamom sounds like an odd choice, but it’s a nice little hint of exotic spice in an otherwise pretty classic beef soup. Traditionally, you would stew meat on the stove all day to make rich bone broth, but we are just using boxed beef broth here —because who has time for that?
This soup is rich in flavor and nourishment. It’s packed to the brim with veggies, it’s got protein from the beef, and lovely little plump Norwegian dumplings to round it out. This involves quite a bit of chopping, but the reward is worth it. Try this out, and let me know what you think!
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients:
1/4 cup avocado oil (separated into 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp)
1.5 lbs beef stew meat, sliced into 1/4-1/2 inch tiny chunks
kosher salt and black pepper throughout
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 lb carrots, diced
5 stalks of celery, diced
2 leeks, trimmed, cleaned well, and diced
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
10 oz of shredded green cabbage
2 quarts of beef broth
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 egg
2/3 cup whole milk
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Method:
In a large Dutch oven, preheat 2 tbsp of avocado oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the beef, season with kosher salt and black pepper, and sear for 3-5 minutes, or until the meat has a little color and browning. Do not fully cook. Remove the meat from the skillet and place it on a plate to the side while we make the rest of the soup.
Wipe the skillet with a paper towel. Add the other 2 tbsp of avocado oil and the 2 tbsp of unsalted butter to the same skillet, and melt the butter down over medium heat.
Add the carrots, celery, and leeks to the Dutch oven. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Sauté for 7-10 minutes or until the veggies begin to soften.
Add the garlic to the veggies and rapidly sauté for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Add the beef, potatoes, cabbage, and beef broth to the veggies. Give everything a good stir, then season with kosher salt and black pepper.
Bring the soup to a low boil over medium-high heat. Once it’s simmering, let it go for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
While the soup is simmering, prep the dumpling mixture.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and cardamom. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk together. Whisk the egg-milk mixture into the flour, then whisk in the melted butter until well combined and pancake-batter-like.
Once the soup has simmered for about 30 minutes, you can start dropping dumplings into it. Take a small wet spoon, dip it into the batter, and then drop the dumpling into the hot soup. Repeat this process until you’ve used up all of the batter. Let the soup simmer for another 5-7 minutes, or until all the dumplings are cooked.
Taste the soup and season with extra kosher salt and black pepper, if needed. Serve right away, and enjoy!
