Black Bean Soup with Ham Hock Dumplings

1. Combine the ham hocks, onions, carrots, celery, and water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the meat starts to fall from the bones, about 1 1/2 hours. Strain the stock through a colander into a clean pot. Set the ham hocks aside.

2. Add the black beans, chiles, cumin, and chili powder to the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook at a brisk simmer until the beans are tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the salt during the last 5 minutes of cooking.

3. While the beans are cooking, remove the meat from the ham hocks and coarsely chop. Reserve 1/2 cup of the meat and add the rest to the black beans.

4. When the beans are nearly done, combine the 1/2 cup reserved meat with the flour, egg, beer, baking powder, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Mix to make a dough. To form the dumplings, drop the dough by the tablespoonful on top of the soup. You should have 10 dumplings. Cover and cook until the dumplings are set, 2 to 3 minutes.

5. To serve, spoon 1 dumpling into each soup bowl and ladle about 1 cup of soup over it.