Bacon dumpling soup in the Thermomix® only works if the dumplings are cooked outside the machine. We use the Thermomix® for the bacon and onion base and for warming the milk, but the dumplings themselves cook in a separate saucepan. There is a physical reason for this: dumplings need a constant 15 minutes of gentle simmering without any stirring, otherwise they fall apart. The Thermomix® cannot provide both at the same time.
We have been making this soup regularly in autumn and winter for years. The recipe comes from South Tyrol and is a standard dish on every menu there. What makes our version stand out: the bacon and onion base is sweated in the Thermomix®, not in a frying pan. That saves a pot and produces more even roasting flavours.
Tyrolean Bacon Dumpling Soup, Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 13 ✓
- 1 onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 120 g diced smoked bacon
- 20 g butter
- 200 g milk
- 250 g bread cubes for dumplings (stale white bread)
- 1 tbsp plain flour (type 405)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 carrot
- 1 stick leek
- 1500 g vegetable stock
- 1/2 bunch chives
Instructions 0 / 6
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1
Sweat the bacon.
Peel onion and garlic, halve and place in the mixing bowl. Chop 5 sec / speed 5 and push down with the spatula. Add bacon and butter and sweat 3 min / Varoma / reverse direction / speed 1.
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2
Warm the milk.
Add milk and warm 1 min 30 sec / 60°C / reverse direction / speed 1.
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3
Prepare the dumpling dough.
Mix bread cubes, flour and salt in a bowl, pour the eggs and milk mixture over the top and leave to soak, covered, for 15 minutes.
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4
Cut the vegetables.
Meanwhile, trim the carrot and leek, slice finely and bring to the boil with the vegetable stock in a saucepan.
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5
Shape the dumplings and cook the soup.
Shape the dumpling dough into dumplings roughly 4 cm in diameter and cook in the soup over medium heat for 15 minutes.
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6
Serve the soup.
Wash the herbs, shake dry and chop. Sprinkle over the soup and serve.
Tip: If you have leftover dumplings, slice them, dress with a little vinegar, oil and salt, and serve as a dumpling salad.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why the Thermomix® only handles the base
The Thermomix® is ideal for two steps: sweating the bacon with onions and garlic (3 minutes Varoma on reverse direction speed 1) and then warming the milk to 60°C for the dumpling dough. Both run without any risk of burning and without you having to stand at the hob.
The dumplings themselves, however, we cook in a separate saucepan with vegetable stock. The reason is mechanical: dumplings need gentle simmering without movement. If you cook in the Thermomix® at speed 1, the blade moves minimally. That is enough to knock the dumplings and roughen the surface. After 15 minutes you end up with fibrous dumplings rather than smooth ones.
Soaking the bread: 15 minutes is the minimum
Bread cubes for dumplings are stale white bread cut into cubes. We buy them ready-made, but you can also cut up old toast bread. The important thing is that the bread must be dry, otherwise the dough will be soggy.
Pour the 200 g of warm milk from the Thermomix® over the 250 g of bread cubes, 1 tbsp of flour, 1 tsp of salt and 2 eggs. Then leave to stand, covered, for 15 minutes. During this time the bread fully absorbs the liquid. If you carry on earlier, the dumplings will have dry patches in the centre.
Shaping the dumplings: 4 cm diameter, wet hands
After 15 minutes of soaking, the dough will be sticky. You need wet hands to shape it. We make 8 dumplings of 4 cm diameter each from the dough. They should not be larger than 5 cm or they will not cook through, and smaller than 3 cm they fall apart more quickly.
The dumplings go straight into the boiling vegetable stock (1.5 litres). Reduce the heat to medium so it is only barely simmering. Then cook for 15 minutes without a lid. Do not stir, do not move them.
Carrot and leek: thin slices, not grated
While the dumplings soak, slice 1 carrot and 1 stick of leek into thin rounds. We cut by hand, not in the Thermomix®. The reason: the slices should stay visible and have some bite. If you grate them, the vegetables dissolve into the stock and you are left with nothing but broth.
The slices go into the saucepan with the cold vegetable stock and are brought to the boil together. Only then do the dumplings go in.
Bacon: smoked, not cooked
For bacon dumplings you need smoked streaky bacon cut into cubes. Not ham, not breakfast rashers. The bacon provides the saltiness and the smoky flavour. We use 120 g to 250 g of bread, which is a pronounced ratio. If you prefer a milder flavour, reduce to 80 g.
The bacon is sweated in the Thermomix® with the onions and garlic, not fried. 3 minutes at Varoma on speed 1 is enough. Any longer makes the bacon tough.
Leftover dumplings as dumpling salad
If you have dumplings left over (or make extra on purpose), slice them the next day. Dress with vinegar, oil, salt and chopped onions. That is dumpling salad, a Bavarian classic. The slices absorb the dressing and become moist again.
Storage
The soup keeps in the fridge for 2 days. The dumplings soften but remain good to eat. We would not freeze them as the dough becomes crumbly on thawing.
More soups from the Thermomix®:
Goes well with: Farmhouse bread and butter.
- Gyros Soup, Thermomix®
- Peking Soup, Thermomix®
- Cheese Dumplings Soup, Thermomix®
- Viking Stew, Thermomix®
- Minced Meat and Potato Stew, Thermomix®
