Prep the vegetables

• Dice the onion, carrots, celery and bell pepper.

Brown the chicken

• Season the chicken thighs with Cajun seasoning.
• Sear them in the pot until nicely browned, then set aside.

Sauté the vegetables

• Melt the butter in the same pot.
• Sauté the onion, carrots, celery and bell pepper.
• Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook down.

Build the soup

• Sprinkle in the flour and stir.
• Pour in the chicken stock and mix well.
• Add the remaining seasonings, the chicken, fresh thyme and bay leaf.

Simmer the soup

• Let the soup simmer until the chicken is tender.

Make the chive dumplings

• Mix the flour, baking powder, milk and chives into a soft dough.

Shred the chicken

• Remove the chicken, shred it off the bone and discard the skin and bones.

Finish the soup

• Stir in the heavy cream and parmesan.
• Return the shredded chicken to the pot.

Steam the dumplings

• Drop spoonfuls of the dumpling dough into the soup.
• Cover and steam until the dumplings are fluffy.

Add the lemon herb topping

• Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice and chopped parsley.
• Finish the soup with the fresh lemon herb topping.