Estonian-inspired soup with caraway dumplings

1. To make the dumplings, mix the butter and egg together in a bowl with a fork. Put the flour and sugar in a large bowl and make a hollow in the middle. While whisking, pour the egg and butter mixture into the middle and bring the dry ingredients into it. Start adding the milk before the butter and egg are fully combined. Season with ¼ tsp salt and add the caraway seeds.

2. Fry the bacon in a large saucepan, using the fat that runs out of it as it heats. Add the stock and all the veg, except the parsley, simmer, covered for 20 minutes. 

3. When the soup is ready – but before you have added the parsley – poach the dumplings in it. Put about 2 tsp worth of the dumpling mixture into a soup spoon, then, with the soup gently bubbling, use the teaspoon to push the dough off the soup spoon into it. Keep doing this until you have added enough to give about 4 small dumplings per person. They don’t have to stay in a perfect shape – the dough is soft so the dumplings can look uneven, even slightly ragged. Once the dumplings rise to the surface they are cooked. It’s quite hard to see this because of the vegetables, so aim for about 4 minutes.

4. If you need to add more water because the soup has thickened while the dumplings were being poached, add it now. Heat through, gently stir in the parsley and check the seasoning. Serve immediately.