Chicken and Dumplings
Talk about comfort food....Chicken and Dumplings is right at the top of the list. Soft pillows of herby dumplings topped over tender chunks of chicken and vegetables in a thick buttery sauce. So delicious and perfect for these chilly wintery days.
The base of vegetables used here is common staple in my kitchen and classic ingredients for this thick stew-like soup. Onions, carrots, celery and fresh rosemary are some of my favorite aromatics to use. This is a great dish to make when you have leftover chicken. I like to roast a whole chicken, eat half of it one night and make chicken and dumplings the next night. It's a great way to stretch 2 meals out.
Start with heating a soup pot on high heat. Add olive oil and saute onions, carrots and celery until onions become translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Then add the garlic.
Season with House Blend.
Add about 2 tablespoons of flour to the onion mixture and cook the flour out for about 2 minutes. By adding flour now, it gives it a chance to thicken while its simmering.
Next we're adding a cup of dry white wine. Scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. The sauce will start to thicken immediately because of the flour, so continually stir and have the chicken stock on hand and ready to add in.
Not only am I getting 2 full dinners out of this whole roasted chicken, I also made stock. 1 chicken made me a little over 12 cups of homemade stock. So now I have plenty for this dish as well as plenty to freeze in small portions for later. Add about 4 cups of stock to the pot.
Bring the sauce to a boil and add your shredded chicken in.
Once you've added the chicken, toss in a whole sprig of rosemary, bring it to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
The dumpling batter is simple. Start with about a cup of flour.
Add 1 teaspoon of baking powder and a pinch of salt.
Stir in about a half cup of milk. The batter is going to be sticky.
And about 1 tablespoon of melted butter.
I thought some fresh herbs would add a little brightness to these dumplings. So I'm adding about 2 tablespoons of finely chopped mixed rosemary, thyme and parsley. Combine ingredients until soft, sticky batter forms.
Using a tablespoon, lay spoonfuls of batter over simmering chicken. They are going to double in size, so don't make them too large.
Put the lid on and cook for about 15 minutes. Don't open the lid until after the 1st 15 minutes. Since the dumplings are being steamed, you don't want to let the steam out by opening the lid. If they aren't cooked after 15 minutes, put the lid back on and cook another couple minutes.
How delicious does this look? And how pretty are these dumplings with all those fresh herbs in there?
The dumplings are light and fluffy and full of delicious herbs. The chicken is tender and the sauce is rich and thick and heavenly. Time to dig in!
RECIPE
CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS
| Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Cook Time: 45 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 4 |
Ingredients for Stew:
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 rosemary sprig
- SplenDishes House Blend
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 4 cups chicken stock
Ingredients for Dumplings:
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons fresh herbs, chopped
Directions:
Heat soup pot on high heat. Add olive oil and saute onions, carrots and celery for about 4 minutes, then add garlic and House Blend. After garlic has cooked for a minute, stir in flour to combine and cook for about 2 minutes.
Stir in white wine and scrape up any bits from bottom of pan. Sauce will thicken quickly, add chicken stock then bring to a boil.
Add chicken and rosemary and lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, butter and fresh herbs and combine until a sticky batter forms.
Drop spoonfuls of batter into simmering stew, cover with lid and cook for 15 minutes. If after 15 minutes dumplings aren't cooked through, place lid back on and cook another couple minutes.
Season to taste with salt, if needed.
Ladle chicken, vegetable and dumplings into serving bowls and top with fresh parsley.
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