Cheese Dumpling & Fresh Tomato Soup

A fresh twist on tomato soup with tasty feta cheese dumplings, this is an easy soup which highlights your fresh garden vegetables.

This soup is what I call ‘on the make something out of nothing’ end of the cooking spectrum. Ideal when you want something light and fresh, cheese dumpling & fresh tomato soup needs just a few fresh vegetables, cheese plus a couple of pantry staples. As with most soups and casseroles, this meal is adaptable to your own taste. Bulk it out by adding a can of cannellini beans or chick peas, add crusty bread to reach dip’n’slurp heaven, or simply substitute vegetables you prefer.

If you’re a vegetable gardener (like us!), this is another great way to use that big tomato harvest. In fact, it’s easy to achieve a glut of tomatoes from the garden, so if that’s an issue for you, check out our tomato recipes here. If you have so many tomatoes that you want to keep them for later use, our pure simple tomato sauce reduction method has you covered. These cheese dumplings are a real delight, adding bulk to the soup without the grease factor. Thanks to the feta, they have a delightful simple-yet-salty zing which is the perfect complement to the soup.

Here’s How to Make It

Heat the oil in the pot over medium heat. Slice the zucchini, tomato, celery and onion. Crush or finely dice the garlic.

Fry the onion & celery for 5-10 minutes, do not let it go brown. Once the onion is translucent, add the garlic & chilli and fry a further 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and fry a further 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, salt & pepper, and gently cook for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the dumplings. Combine the egg, cheeses, breadcrumbs, baking powder, thyme & nutmeg together in a bowl and blend well. If your cheese is at all cold they will take quite a bit of mixing, so be sure to take the cheese out of the fridge prior to cooking (assuming you have time). If using powdered stock, mix it up now (here I’m using Vegeta stock powder & water). If using home made vegetable stock, you may need to add some salt at this stage.

Add the stock to the pot and bring to the boil. Once the soup is boiling, gently add the dumplings and cook a further 5-10 minutes. Dumplings are cooked when they rise to the surface.