Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy-bottomed pot, 3 litre
• •Small saucepan for the melboller dough
• •Wide pan for poaching the melboller
• •Wooden spoon
• •Whisk
• •Slotted spoon
• •Two small teaspoons for shaping

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the melboller dough

   Bring the water and butter for the melboller to a gentle boil in a small saucepan with the salt, sugar, and nutmeg. When the butter has melted completely, tip in the flour all at once and beat hard with a wooden spoon. The mixture will come together into a smooth ball that pulls cleanly away from the sides of the pan. Keep stirring for another minute over a low heat to dry the dough out slightly. This is the same method as French pate a choux, and the Danes borrowed it long ago because it gives the lightest dumplings you can make.

   The dough is ready when a thin film forms on the bottom of the pan. That's the sign the flour has cooked and the water has evaporated enough.
2. 2

   Finish the dough

   Take the pan off the heat and let the dough cool for three minutes. If you add the eggs too soon, they will scramble. Beat in the eggs one at a time, working each one in completely before adding the next. The dough will look slippery and broken at first, then tighten back into a glossy paste. You want a dough that holds a soft peak when you lift the spoon.

3. 3

   Shape and poach the melboller

   Bring a wide pan of lightly salted water to a bare simmer. Never a rolling boil. A rolling boil tears the dumplings apart. Using two small teaspoons, shape little ovals of dough the size of hazelnuts and slip them gently into the water. Work in batches so the pan isn't crowded. The melboller will sink at first, then rise to the surface after about three minutes. Let them cook for another minute, then lift them out with a slotted spoon onto a plate. Set aside.

   Dip the spoons in the simmering water between each dumpling. The dough will release cleanly instead of sticking.
4. 4

   Build the roux

   Melt the butter in a heavy pot over a medium heat. When it foams, scatter in the flour and whisk it into a smooth paste. Cook the roux for two minutes, stirring constantly. You're not trying to brown it, just to cook out the raw flour taste. A white roux keeps the soup pale so the green of the chervil can sing through at the end.

5. 5

   Add the stock

   Pour in the chicken stock a ladleful at a time, whisking constantly. Go slowly at the start. If you add too much stock too quickly, the roux will form lumps that you'll spend the next ten minutes chasing around the pan. Once you have a smooth base, add the rest of the stock in a steady stream. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer and cook for fifteen minutes, skimming any foam that rises to the top. The soup should thicken slightly but stay light. This is a delicate broth, not a heavy cream soup.

6. 6

   Finish with cream and season

   Stir in the cream and warm it through without letting the soup boil. Boiling splits cream and flattens its richness. Season with salt and white pepper. White pepper is the right choice here, not black. Black pepper leaves dark flecks that muddy the appearance. Taste and adjust. The soup should be rich but light, rounded but bright.

7. 7

   Stir in the chervil

   Take the pot off the heat. This is the moment that matters most. Add the chopped chervil and stir it through. Do not let the soup boil after the chervil goes in. Chervil is a fragile herb, nothing like parsley. Heat will turn it grey and rob it of its delicate anise perfume within seconds. The residual warmth of the soup is enough to release the flavor and keep the color bright green. You'll see the whole pot come alive with green the moment the leaves go in.

   Reserve a small handful of chervil leaves whole, not chopped, to scatter on top at the table. The chopped chervil gives the flavor; the whole leaves give the final gesture.
8. 8

   Serve at the table

   Warm the melboller gently in the soup for thirty seconds, no more. Ladle into wide shallow bowls. Place half a boiled egg in each bowl, yolk-side up, and scatter the reserved whole chervil leaves over the top. Serve at once with good bread alongside. Tak for mad.

Chef Tips

• •Chervil is the whole point, and it must be fresh. Dried chervil tastes of nothing. If you can't find chervil at your market in April or May, don't make this soup with parsley or dill as a substitute. Make something else and wait for next spring. The joy of waiting is part of the dish.
• •The stock is the foundation. A homemade chicken stock made from a carcass and a few hours of gentle simmering gives you a bowl that tastes of something. A stock cube gives you salt water with ambition. If you don't have time to make stock from scratch, buy the best fresh chilled stock you can find.
• •Korvelsuppe is traditionally served as a first course at the Danish Easter lunch, before the cold table of smorrebrod and pickled herring arrives. A small bowl is enough. This is a soup of welcome, not of weight.

Advance Preparation

• •The melboller can be shaped and poached a few hours ahead. Keep them on a plate covered with a damp cloth at room temperature, and warm them through in the soup just before serving.
• •The soup base, up to the point of adding the chervil, can be made earlier in the day. Gently reheat it without letting it boil, then stir in the chervil off the heat the moment before the bowls go to the table. The chervil is always the last gesture, never the first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 450g)