Achin' for some bacon?

Every Thursday, it’s soup day at work. It’s an opportunity for the team to catch up, share a meal and sparkling conversation. One team member cooks the meal, and the rest ‘helpfully’ critique.

Shaping the sweet potato dumplings.

The conversation might go something like this…
Mike: So, what do you call this?
Juliet: Soup.
Mike: What kind of soup?
Juliet: Cauliflower soup.
Mike: Sounds like it’s missing something.
Juliet: Like what?
Mike: Bacon.

Due to helpful reviews such as these, I made a bacon soup for our meat lovers.

Apart from bacon, what makes all soup better? Dumplings! I thought sweet potato and maple syrup dumplings might do the trick.

These dumplings are a bit rough and ugly, but so are we! At least the dumplings taste good.

Bacon soup with sweet potato maple syrup dumplings

Serving the sweet potato maple syrup dumplings in the bacon soup.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 175 g bacon, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp sweet paprika
• 2 potatoes, coarsely diced
• 2 carrots, coarsely chopped
• 200 g green beans, cut 2 cm long
• 400 g can red kidney beans
• beef stock cube
• 750 mL water

• 2 cups mashed sweet potato
• 2 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 4 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 eggs

Method

1. Place all dumpling ingredients in a bowl, mix and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a saucepan.
3. Add onion and bacon and cook for 3 mins.
4. Add garlic and paprika, stirring them through to release the flavours.
5. Add potato, carrot and beans and cook for 5 mins.
6. Add kidney beans, stock and water. Simmer for 15 minutes or until tender.
7. Roll the dumpling dough into balls using two dessert spoons.
8. Cook dumplings in a pot of boiling salted water for 10 minutes, then drain.
9. Serve the soup with dumplings on top.

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