The one time I can remember eating chicken and dumplings, I decided that I would never eat it again….but, oddly, for the past couple days I’ve been craving chicken and dumplings, so I decided that I would tackle this dish and try to make it delicious. And the verdict- I feel it was a great success! I like leftovers, and this recipe makes a lot of food: a full 6 qt pot of food. If you don’t think you can eat all of it, just halve the recipe.
Chicken n’ dumplings
Poached Chicken
2 qt chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 sprig thyme
1 tbsp whole peppercorns
2 large chicken breasts
– Heat stock and seasonings to a boil. Add chicken breasts and bring stock back to a boil.
– Turn heat down to medium-low and simmer chicken breasts, covered, for 20-25 minutes, depending on breast size
– Remove breasts from stock, and set aside till cool enough to handle. Shred chicken into large pieces.
Sauce
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
5 medium carrots, medium diced
4 large stalks celery, medium diced
1 yellow onion, medium diced
2 large leeks, halved lengthwise and sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp thyme, minced
3/4 cup flour
2 cups frozen peas
salt and pepper
parley, chopped for garnish
– Heat butter and oil in a large pot, or dutch oven (a wider pot is better than a taller one) over medium-high heat
– Add all vegetables, garlic, and thyme to pot and cook until onions are translucent and vegetables begin to soften
– Turn heat down to medium and sprinkle flour over vegetables. Stir flour into vegetables and continue to cook for 5 more minutes.
– Strain ~1 cup of the hot chicken stock into the vegetables. Stir to avoid lumps. Slowly strain the remainder of the hot stock into vegetables, while stirring. Turn heat back up to medium high, bring soup up to a boil so that the flour can thicken it. Continue stirring so the bottom does not scorch
– Once thickened, add shredded chicken and frozen peas to soup. Season with salt and pepper. Turn heat down to medium-low
Cheddar Dumplings
2 cups flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
- If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, don’t worry. You can easily make buttermilk by mixing 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice for every 1 cup of milk, and then wait a few minutes for the acid to slightly “sour” or curdle the milk. For this recipe, pour the vinegar into a measuring cup and pour milk until you reach 1 cup.
1 tbsp green onions, sliced (chives would work, too)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
– Sift flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add salt
– Whisk buttermilk and eggs in a separate bowl and then add to flour
– Mix until it looks like thick cake batter. Add in green onions and cheese
– Use 2 spoons to drop the batter in the sauce, make dumplings about tablespoon-sized, because they will puff up as they cook. Drop dumpling as quickly as possible, spreading them out if you have enough room in the pot
– Make sure heat is between low and medium-low, and cover pot and allow dumplings to cook for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of your dumplings. Uncover, and gently move dumplings around to make sure all of them were cooked evenly.
~ENJOY!!~
Mochi's Hut 