Liver Dumpling Memories
Sometimes you just get hungry for something from long, long ago. I’m not sure what the trigger was, but recently I found myself craving this liver dumpling soup from The Bohemian Cafe in Omaha, Nebraska. I haven’t been there since probably elementary school.
A cup of intense broth with one giant dumpling saturated with flavor. I had to figure out this taste from so long ago. After consulting a number of recipes, here’s what I came up with:
Liver Dumpling Soup
Ingredients
½ # ground beef liver
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 T flour
2 T butter
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp lemon zest
½ tsp salt
Dash of black pepper
Dash of marjoram
Dash of mace
2 quarts beef broth
Process
- Combine liver, butter, garlic, lemon zest, marjoram and mace.
- Beat in eggs and breadcrumbs, flour, salt and pepper. Cover and let stand at room temperature for one hour.
- Shape into small balls (golf ball size)
- Bring beef broth to boil, then drop in dumplings. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
I went to a number of different groceries for the liver, and found that no one would grind it for me. Against the law? I had to chop it as fine as I could. Shoulda stuck it in the food processor. I washed that cutting board and have eaten plenty food prepared from it since. Fear not, you must try this.
Come to think of it, I could go for a good Pils right about now.
If you’re in Omaha, Czech out The Bohemian Cafe. It’s family-owned and still around, and sits tidily on my to-do list. Find it at 1406 South 13th Street.
