It doesn’t get much better than cheesy dumplings in broth.

This is another recipe that comes from one of my most beloved books, Köchinnen und ihre Rezepte by Sabine Bolliger, which features Swiss lady cooks and domestic educators of yesteryear.

One of those cooks was Berta Brupbacher-Bircher, the sister of Maximilian Bircher-Benner, founder of the eponymous sanatorium above Zürich and inventor of Birchermüesli.

Brupbacher-Bircher eventually lead the Bircher clinic from 1910-1944, with a focus on the clinic’s kitchen. Her mandate followed her brother’s—food was meant to be consumed as raw as possible (cooking destroyed the food’s vitamins and minerals), stimulants like coffee, tea and chocolate were not allowed, nor was meat or processed food like white bread, sugar or rice.

This soup is one of the many meatless meals that Brupbacher-Bircher presented in Das Wendepunkt Kochbuch, her 1927 vegetarian cookbook.

I’m sure that Brupbacher-Bircher used vegetable broth to simmer her dumplings, but I used stock that I had leftover from our Christmas turkey—really any rich broth will do.

100 g hard cheese, grated

100 ml cream

70 g flour

1 egg

herbs, chopped

2 litres broth

In a large bowl, mix together the cheese, cream, flour, egg and herbs.

In a large pot, bring the broth to a steady simmer.

Using two spoons, form egg shaped blobs and drop them into the simmering broth.

Once the dumplings rise to the surface, the soup is ready to be served.

• I used Gruyere cheese, but other hard cheeses like Appenzeller or Sbrinz, would work.

• You can substitute the cream for milk.

• Most of the herbs in my garden are frozen, but I still managed to get a small handful of rosemary, sage and oregano. Parsley, chives, or even mint would work.

• I used leftover turkey stock for my broth, but really any kind, even commercially prepared, would do.