Chicken and Dumplings

*Post by Angela.

While we both love food, Mark and I come from very different food backgrounds in terms of what we grew up eating. For me, home-cooked meals were often of Asian origin, usually Chinese. I can't remember ever having meatloaf, sloppy joes, or any other traditional American comfort foods. Mark, on the other hand, grew up with the classics, including chicken and dumplings, something I had never really had until I tried it at dinner at his parents' house. I found this recipe at Simply Recipes, and though it didn't turn out quite as well as I wanted, I liked how hearty it was, great for a chilly fall/winter night.

 

List of ingredients:

• 4 pounds chicken thighs and legs (Family Pak, baby!)
• 8 tbsp olive oil, divided
• Salt
• 1 quart chicken stock + 2 cups water
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large leek, white and light green parts only, chopped and well rinsed
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 3 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• 1/4 cup dry sherry
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pinch turmeric
• Ground black or white pepper
• 2 cups cake flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp butter, melted
• 3/4 cup half and half
• 1/4 cup minced fresh herb leaves (I used parsley and tarragon)

 

First I brought the chicken stock and the 2 cups of water to a gentle simmer in a medium pot, and heated 2 tbsp of the olive oil over medium-high heat in different (bigger pot). I browned the chicken pieces in the heated oil, placing the pieces skin-side down first (about 3-4 minutes per side).

 

 

I peeled the crispy skin off the chicken pieces, ate it, then chucked the rest of the meat into the simmering stock to cook for about 20 minutes (after that, I used tongs to remove the meat, leaving the stock simmering, then stripped the meat off the bones and chopped it up into bite-sized pieces). In the meantime, I brought the bigger pot back up to to medium-high heat and added the onion, celery, carrot and thyme and sautéed until soft, but not browned, about 4-5 minutes. I added the garlic and cooked just a minute or two more, then removed the veggies to a bowl.

 

 

 

 

I heated the remaining 6 tbsp of olive oil in the big pot, then added the 6 tbsp of all-purpose flour and whisked to create a roux, cooking for about 2-3 minutes. 

 

 

 

 

I added the vegetables back into the pot with the roux, along with the sherry, bay leaves and turmeric. Then I added the hot chicken stock a ladle at a time, stirring constantly, until it was all added. Then I added the chicken back in, seasoned with salt and pepper and continued to simmer.

 

 

 

 

At this point, I was ready to put together the dumplings. I sifted together the 2 cups of cake flour, baking powder, and about 1 tsp of salt in a medium bowl, then mixed in the chopped parsley/tarragon mixture. I added melted butter and half and half to the dry ingredients, and just did a quick mix with a until mixture had just come together.

 

 

 

 
I dropped dumpling batter in heaping teaspoonfuls into the stew, attempting not to overcrowd any one particular spot, then covered the pot tightly and simmered over medium low heat for about 20 minutes.

 

 

 

The texture of the dumplings were odd - kind of spongey and dense, instead of fluffy, like I wanted. Though I liked how herb-y they were, I may use Bisquick next time. The stew itself, though, was really tasty, thick, velvety and downright, well...comforting.

Comments

[Atefeh]

I've tried dumplings before, and never turned out to be good.
Maybe I'll try again?...

[Angela]

Atefeh,

You should, just don't try these, they're weird. I'm gonna try this recipe with Bisquick next time.