Chicken and Tamale Dumpling Soup

I created this recipe when I was craving chicken enchilada soup and chicken and dumplings at the same time. I decided to combine the ideas and used what was available in my pantry. My family and I were so pleased with the results. Serve with a bit of shredded cheese and sour cream as a garnish.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast
• 10 cups water, divided, or more as needed
• 1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 8 cubes chicken bouillon, crushed
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 cup masa flour
• 0.5 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 0.5 teaspoon ground cumin
• 0.5 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper

Steps

1. Place chicken in a pot and add 8 cups water, or enough to cover; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 10 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate.
2. Transfer cooking liquid and more water (enough so total liquid measures 10 cups) to a 6-quart Dutch oven. Add tomato paste, onion, bouillon cubes, chili powder, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until onion is translucent and liquid is almost boiling, 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cut chicken into bite-sized cubes. Grind enough chicken in a food processor to get 3 cups. Set aside ground chicken, and add remaining chicken cubes to the soup.
4. Prepare dumplings: Ladle out a small amount of soup and let cool for a few minutes. Combine ground chicken, masa, all-purpose flour, parsley, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Add a small amount of cooled soup at a time and mix by hand to form a soft dough. (You can also mix in a food processor.)
5. Drop spoonfuls of dough into the hot soup. Cook, uncovered, until dumplings are cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. They will be a bit on the dense side and will not puff up a lot like traditional dumplings.