Chicken-And-Dumpling Soup

I really wanted some chicken soup. I don't know if it was a lack of it over the last several months or the cold weather or what, but I wanted it and was on the hunt for a new recipe to try. And I found one. One that's quite delicious, if a little on the prep-heavy side, due to the large amount of root vegetables there are in this recipe. But a little grunt work never hurt anyone, right? And it's worth it for a delicious bowl of chicken soup.

Michael Symon's Chicken-And-Dumpling Soup
A variation on this Michael Symon recipe

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced
1 bulb celery root, peeled and finely diced
1 turnip, peeled and finely diced
1 rutabaga, peeled and finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
1 bulb fennel, finely diced
Kosher salt
10 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, toasted
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
2 pounds chicken
1 cup milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Freshly ground pepper
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 6-quart pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, carrots, celery root, turnip, rutabaga, onion, diced fennel and a large pinch of salt; cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the broth, fennel seeds, thyme and bay leaves; bring to a simmer. Add the chicken and simmer for 2 hours. Remove the chicken and let cool. Shred the chicken and set aside.

About 15 minutes before the chicken has finished simmering, prepare the dumplings: Combine the milk, stick of butter, 1 tablespoon tarragon, the nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat; add the flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the liquid is absorbed. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, to make a thick dough.

Bring the soup to a boil. Form the dough into dumplings (a small ice cream scoop is perfect for this); drop into the soup. Cover and cook until the dumplings float to the surface, about 10 minutes.

Add the chicken meat, parsley and the remaining 1 tablespoon tarragon to the soup; stir carefully and divide among warm bowls.