Danish chicken soup with meat and flour dumplings (Hønsekødssuppe med boller)

1. Put the boiling hen into the cold water, add salt, bring slowly to the boil, skim off the foam, cover and simmer over low heat for 2 hours; add half the vegetables in large pieces for the last 30 minutes.

2. For the meatballs, mix the minced pork with 1 egg, 2 tbsp flour, 50 ml milk and salt, and chill for 30 minutes.

3. For the flour dumplings, bring the butter and the remaining 100 ml milk to the boil, add the rest of the flour all at once and stir until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan; let it cool slightly, then beat in the 2 eggs one at a time.

4. Lift out the hen and strain the stock; finely chop the remaining carrots, leek and celery and cook them in the stock for 10 minutes.

5. Drop the meatballs into the simmering soup with a wet teaspoon and the flour dumplings with two teaspoons, and cook for 8-10 minutes until they rise to the surface.

6. Pull the meat off the bones, cut it into bite-sized pieces, return it to the soup and serve piping hot.

Tip: "Suppe med boller" is the soup of Danish family celebrations, birthdays and Sunday lunches; the two kinds of dumplings - meat and flour - make it special. The flour dumplings are actually choux pastry, the same as for doughnuts or profiteroles; beat it well and they'll be soft and light. You can use chicken thighs instead of a boiling hen - then 1 hour of simmering is enough.