Potato Rivel Soup

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In our area of northwest Ohio, almost everyone has some German in their blood. My mother's family is German Mennonite. Mennonites make a rustic version of spaetzle called rivels and put them into soup. Rivel soup is a treasured home-style soup around here and everybody has their own version of it.

Here is my mother's Potato Rivel Soup recipe:

8 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup finely diced onions
1/4 cup finely diced celery
1 1/2 tsp salt
dash pepper

Cook above ingredients in 2 cups of water. Cover the pot and cook until potatoes are easily pierced with tip of knife. Add uncooked rivels (recipe
below) slowly, adding water if necessary, stirring constantly, approximately five minutes until tender. Add 1-1/2 quarts of whole milk and 1/4 pound of crisp bacon, plus 5 tablespoons of bacon grease. Add one-cup dry milk powder (or 1 cup evaporated milk) and simmer until flavors are well blended.

Mom's note: You can add left over mashed potatoes after you have cooked the rivels in the onions and celery for extra potato flavor.

Rivels:

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 large egg
3/4 tsp salt

Beat egg and salt with fork in medium bowl. Add flour all at once and beat until small pebbles form. Use your fingers to break apart if necessary. If you have flour that did not incorporate into the egg, then just add it with the rivels as it will help thicken the soup.

Note: As with my mother's recipe, if you happen to have leftover mashed potatoes, feel free to add them after you have cooked the rivels in the broth.

From Candy Hutchins , and she wishes that you enjoy this Mennonite recipe from Ohio!

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