Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients:
4-5 bone in, skin on chicken thighs
1 TBS olive oil
1 large onion diced
2 ribs celery diced
2-3 carrots diced
1 tsp dries thyme
1 quart chicken broth
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Fresh chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
Dumplings:
1 cup cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 TBS olive oil
1/4 cup + 2 TBS milk, milk alternative (almond, soy, etc) or water
Fresh chopped parsley
A southern classic. This stick to your bones, roux based soup will heat you up and keep you going through some of those cold dreary days
Directions:
Rinse and pat the chicken thighs dry. Sprinkle salt and pepper on them. In a stock pot over mediumhigh heat, place the chicken skin side down to render the fat (needed for the roux). When a lot of fat has been rendered turn the thighs to sear the other side until lightly browned. Remove the chicken thighs to a plate and cover with aluminum foil. Add onions, celery and carrots to the stock pot and stir gently for 2 minutes. Add the thyme and then add the all-purpose flour. Stir or whisk until the flour incorporated with the fat, making the roux. Do not allow the roux to get too much color, it should remain a creamy color. Slowly add the chicken stock (it’s best to pre-heat the broth to nearly boiling in another pot). It will bind at first, but as you continue to add broth it will make a thickened broth. Meanwhile, remove the skin from the chicken thighs and trim any large prices of fat off. Add the chicken thigh back in, and simmer for 40 minutes covered.
Remove the chicken and check that they are tender, the meat should nearly fall off the bone. Remove the meat and cut to bite size pieces. Add the chicken back to the broth. Salt and pepper to taste.
Prepare your dumplings by first whisking your dried ingredients together and then add the liquids (also combined prior) and the parsley. Mix with a spoon until just incorporated. Using a teaspoon, drop teaspoon drops of the wet dough into the liquid. Once you have enough dumplings, cover and simmer for 15 minutes covered (do not remove the lid). The dumplings will plump up quite a bit, 2-3 times their original size.
Garnish with a little fresh parsley and/or green onions.
*you can thin the thickened broth a little if necessary with water or broth, I didn't need to