Vegetarian 'Chicken' and Veggie Soup with Dumplings

I'm starting to get the ever so slight impression that winter has reared her frost-bitten head. Don't get me wrong, I love winter, it would be winter all year if I had my way. However, I can't ignore the fact that my feet are so frozen I can't feel them and my fingernails have turned an interesting shade of blue. On days like this I devote hours to cooking, the warmth from the oven glues me there. I spend my time churning out puddings, soups, pies and anything else that will put some heat in my belly. 

Today my kid and I hid away in the kitchen, carefully selecting recipes as we huddled by the pre-heating oven. Ultimately we decided on maple sugar & walnut biscotti for morning tea and then some roasted chickpeas with rosemary and sea salt for an afternoon snack. For something a little more filling we couldn't resist the hearty 'Chickpeas and Dumpling Soup' from Oh My Veggies. I can't leave things alone so I've altered the recipe a bit (business as usual). It's a wonderfully comforting meal, just the thing to keep those blue fingernails at bay!

Vegetarian 'Chicken' and Veggie Soup with Dumplings

Recipe adapted from Oh My Veggies
Total time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients for the soup:

• 3 tablespoons butter 
• ​2 tablespoons plain flour​
• 1 large onion, diced 
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 
• kernels of 1 fresh corn cob 
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves finely chopped 
• 2 dried bay leaves 
• 1/2 cup white wine 
• 3 1/2 cups vegetarian 'chicken' stock (I used Massel Ultracubes) 
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed​
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Ingredients for the dumplings:

• 4 tablespoons cold butter​, cubed
• 1/3 cup plain​ flour 
• ½ tea​spoon​ salt 
• 1 egg

Method

1. Make the dumplings: In a bowl, stir together flour and salt; add butter, and using your fingers, rub into flour until pea-size c​lumps form. Add egg, and stir until ​it comes together. ​Place in the fridge for later.
2. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over ​low-​medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, corn, thyme, and bay leaves. Coo​k​ until the onions are light golden brown, then add the chickpeas.
3. Sprinkle the remaining flour over the veggies and stir to coat; cook for 1 minute. ​Add the ​wine and cook ​for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock​ and bring to a ​simmer
4. ​Drop ​dessert-​spoonfuls of ​the dumpling batter into the pot, making sure they don't touch each other​.
5. Cover and let​ simmer for ​1​0 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and serve.