Xavier Soup

X is for Xavier Soup!

This year I'm participating in a bi-weekly challenge with some blogging friends to post recipes using all of the letters in the alphabet. It can feature a food that begins with the letter of the week or the recipe name can contain the week's letter.

When I signed up for the challenge this was the letter that I constantly was turning over in my head. I did a lot of internet research and found a recipe for Xavier Soup that is made to celebrate the Feast of St. Xavier on December the 3rd.

It essentially is a dumpling soup with a clear broth. This was my first time making dumplings. You start by combining flour, heavy cream, butter and Parmesan cheese in a pot. Over low heat, work the ingredients together until it forms a dough.

Beat the salt, pepper, nutmeg, eggs and parsley together in a small bowl and then add it to the pot. I flattened the flour dough out and then made sort of a well in the center to lessen the chance of scrambling the eggs before I got them mixed in.

I let the mixture cool just slightly and then loaded it into a piping bag. The easiest way to do that is to place the bag over a tall cup or glass and fold it over the rim. Fill it, remove it, twist the top and then snip off the bottom.

Not going to lie, it was a bit tedious to pipe all of those little dough "peas". You want to leave space between them so that they don't stick together while they're resting.

Here's where my process shots went out the window. You want to get a pot of salted water up to a boil and at the same time in another pot, heat up the chicken broth.

Gently slide the dough peas into the boiling water and cook them for about 5 minutes. I read conflicting information on whether they should float or not, mine never did but when I split them in two they were definitely cooked through.

Remove them with a slotted spoon and then gently put them into the chicken broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper and then add in the herbs. I used parsley but I could not find chervil so I substituted dried tarragon.

For my first try I'm pretty happy with the result. It would be a nice starter or midday meal. To make it a bit heartier I'd probably add some cubed cooked chicken.

Thank you again to Wendy for hosting the 2024 Alphabet Challenge and to the other bloggers for sharing their recipes this week! Check them out using the links down below! You can see all of the recipes I've made for the challenge here- Alphabet Challenge 2024

Xavier Soup

Author: Jolene's Recipe Journal

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 stick butter
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
3 Tablespoons parsley, chopped (divided)
12 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons dried tarragon

Instructions

Over low heat, use a spatula or wooden spoon to combine the flour, cream, butter and Parmesan cheese into a dough.
In a small bowl beat together the salt, pepper, nutmeg, eggs and egg yolks and 1 tablespoon of parsley. Pour it on top of the flour mixture and work quickly to combine so that the eggs don't scramble.
Put the mixture into a piping bag with a big nozzle and pipe pea-sized balls onto a parchment lined tray. Let stand for about 30 minutes.
In a large pot, heat some salted water until it boils. Gently drop in all the dough peas. Cook for 5 minutes, then remove them with a slotted spoon and add to the warm chicken stock.
Season soup to taste with additional salt and pepper, add the tarragon and remaining parsley.