Chicken Paprikash Soup With Spaetzle - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Soup Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 large onion, diced small
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 - 1/3 cup paprika
2/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon thyme
7 cups chicken stock
1 cup chicken, cooked and diced (can use more)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup sour cream
1 (10 ounce) package spaetzle noodles, cooked according to package instructions (or use the following recipe for homemade spaetzle)
Spaetzle Ingredients
4 eggs
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon parsley, minced
1 cup flour, enough to make a very thick batter
salt and pepper

Preparation

In a 3 quart pot, melt the butter; add onion and garlic and cook on low heat until onions are soft and translucent.
Add the paprika, thyme, and flour and stir until the onions are coated, about 2-3 minutes.
Whisk in the stock and cook until soup thickens. Simmer on low for 30 minutes.
Add the chicken and spaetzle (recipe below) and salt and pepper.
Use a ladle to set aside a small amount of soup. Mix the sour cream with the small amount of reserved soup, and then add the whole mixture into the large pot of soup. This allows the temperature of the sour cream to adjust gradually. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
For the homemade spaetzle, if you are using: While the soup is cooking, put a large pot or pan of water on to boil.
Combine spaetzle ingredients until they are smooth.
Run the thick batter through a spaetzle maker or a colander. Drop into the boiling water, and remove the noodles when they float.
Add directly to the hot soup.