Cut your beef into large chunks and place it all into a large pot, including the soup bone if you have one. Cover the meat with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour the boiling water off, re-fill the pot with fresh water to cover the beef once again, and return the pot to the stove. Pouring off this initial water helps reduce the amount of foam and fat you'll need to skim later.

Bring the pot to a simmer and add one whole peeled onion, two bay leaves and peppercorns to the pot. Simmer until the meat is fully cooked and fork-tender- about 3-4 hours, depending on the amount and the cut of the beef. If the water ever begins to get low in the pot, top it up. Periodically skim the fat off the top of the pot with a ladle.

Toward the end of the cooking time, peel and dice your carrots, parsnip, potatoes and leek.

When the meat is tender, use tongs or forks to lift it out of the pot onto a large plate or bowl. Strain the broth into a new pot, removing the onion, bay leaves, and peppercorns.

Over medium heat, return the broth to a simmer, add the vegetables and season with a generous pinch of salt. Simmer until the vegetables are softening, but not fully cooked yet. 

While the vegetables cook, removed the meat from the bones, remove excess fat, and cut the meat into bite size pieces. Sample your soup and add more salt if needed; add the beef back to the soup and allow to warm through, then make the dumplings.

In a medium bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, flour, sugar, nutmeg if using, salt and pepper until thoroughly combined. It will be a stiff but sticky batter texture.

Bring your soup up to a boil and use two spoons to scoop small balls of dough and drop them gently into the liquid. Repeat with all of the batter and let the dumplings cook for about 5 minutes. They will float when they are fully cooked. 

When the dumplings are cooked through, remove the pot from the heat and serve.