Chicken and Dumplings has been around forever, it seems. I originally got the recipe from an old cookbook (copyright 1969) by Gloria Ivens called "Glorious Stews." While I love the recipe, it does call for cooking a chicken first, with vegetables that will make a great stock, then discarding the veggies and starting over with fresh vegetables to make the dish itself. The recipe uses a good sized farm chicken, past its prime, in which case the chicken will be tougher than what is normally found in the supermarket and with a commensurately longer cooking time.
 |
| Chicken & Dumplings |
Making the dish these days, when farm fresh chickens are not available to just anyone, some revisions to the recipe are needed. I am all for excellent, full flavored stock, and I always do my utmost to accomplish that first.
Making a good stock is not time-consuming. Once it is made, it can be frozen. This means having some really well-flavored chicken stock on hand for any recipe that calls for chicken stock, and not the pitifully flavored "chicken stock" found in the supermarket. It is hard to imagine a more radical difference.
What Makes a Good Chicken Stock?
Bones, that's what. Without bones to give flavor, I would personally just say don't bother, because the results will be pallid by comparison. If you use a package of chicken wings for a party, first cut off all the wing tips and save them for stock. If ever you are using a whole chicken, or any chicken where there are leftover wing tips or backs, or even chunks of skin and fat, place these in a bag, well marked, and freeze them until you have a fair amount and then you can plan to make stock on some Saturday when you are hanging around the house doing other chores.When you are ready to make your chicken stock, place the bones, and whatever other bits and pieces you have accumulated into a pot, cover them with water, adding in a whole carrot, stalk of celery, an onion with its outer skin left on for good color, a sprig of parsley and a few black peppercorns. Do not add salt! Salt can be added to the recipe when you are making something with the stock, but if salt is added to the stock at the start, you may end up with a stock that is far too salty to use without severely diluting it. In which case, you have just wasted all your efforts for a full flavored stock. No salt.
A chicken stock should simmer for at least three hours on very low, to extract as much flavor as possible from the bones. Once cooked, poured the stock through a very fine sieve to filter out any bits or parts. Cool and freeze in plastic containers of a size that will serve for a recipe, such as 2 cup or 4 cup containers.
 |
Chicken & Dumplings
|
What Constitutes a Dumpling?
I guess the answer to that would depend on each individual, because there are many types of "dumpling," and not any two people will agree on what that means.Some dumplings are nothing more than a drop-biscuit dough (my Mom used Bisquick™). Depending on size, these can grow to entirely cover the surface of the soup or stew. Some are heavy and chewy and some are light and fluffy. Others are dry.
I cannot abide the biscuit type of dumpling, though if this is your preferred dumpling, please use them, because the dish will depend on liking the dumpling part of it. For me, I love best a very small type of dumpling, dropped judiciously onto the soup or stew. They will sort of blend into the soup or stew, becoming a part of the other myriad chunks in the stew already. I use the recipe for Butter Chive Dumplings, though without the chives, or sometimes the Butter & Egg Dumplings, below. They are small, and easily blend in with the other bits in the stew. These Butter & Egg Dumplings are thicker and slightly denser but still quite tender:
Butter & Egg Dumplings
½ cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour3 eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, not melted
¼ teaspoon salt
a Pinch white pepper
Place the butter into a bowl and beat until light, then adding in the eggs, one at a time, until each is well combined. Add in the flour, salt and pepper, stirring to make a batter.
These can be made ahead and then set onto the stew when it is ready to serve: heat a 3 to 4-quart pot of water to a simmer, adding in about 1 teaspoon of salt per quart of water in the pot. Drop the batter into the slowly simmering water by teaspoon, allowing them to gently slide onto the water. They will sink, then start to rise to the surface once they are cooked, about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove the dumplings to a buttered plate or oven-proof casserole. Cover and keep warm until needed.
If making the dumplings on top of the soup or stew: Once the soup or stew is finished cooking, drop the dumplings by teaspoon onto the surface of the soup. Cover the pot and allow to cook gently for about 7 to 8 minutes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chicken & Dumplings
Serves about 6
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, not melted
¼ teaspoon salt
a Pinch white pepper
Place the butter into a bowl and beat until light, then adding in the eggs, one at a time, until each is well combined. Add in the flour, salt and pepper, stirring to make a batter.
These can be made ahead and then set onto the stew when it is ready to serve: heat a 3 to 4-quart pot of water to a simmer, adding in about 1 teaspoon of salt per quart of water in the pot. Drop the batter into the slowly simmering water by teaspoon, allowing them to gently slide onto the water. They will sink, then start to rise to the surface once they are cooked, about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove the dumplings to a buttered plate or oven-proof casserole. Cover and keep warm until needed.
If making the dumplings on top of the soup or stew: Once the soup or stew is finished cooking, drop the dumplings by teaspoon onto the surface of the soup. Cover the pot and allow to cook gently for about 7 to 8 minutes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chicken & Dumplings
Chicken & Dumplings
Serves about 6
2 quarts (8 cups) good chicken stock (see above)
1 whole chicken, cut up (freeze back and wingtips for another batch of stock)
6 carrots, peeled and sliced into coin shapes
3 large onions, chopped coarsely
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper (preferably white pepper)
Pinch saffron, crushed, optional
THICKENING:
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup cold water
---
1 cup heavy cream, optional
---
1 recipe Butter & Egg Dumplings, made ahead or on the stew, as preferred
---
1 cup frozen peas
Place the chicken pieces into a wide stew pot or Dutch oven and cover with the chicken stock. Turn on heat and bring to boil, adding in the onion, carrot and garlic with the salt and pepper. Once boiling, skim off any foam that accumulates on top. Once foaming subsides, add in the saffron, lower heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken pieces from the pot to a plate to cool. Once cooled, remove the chicken from the bones, discarding bones, skin and cartilage. Add the meat back to the pot.
Briskly whisk together the flour and cold water. Pour into the pot through a sieve, then stir briskly to distribute evenly. Allow the stew to cook gently for a few minutes to thicken slightly. Pour in the heavy cream, if using, and add in the peas. If making the dumplings directly on top of the stew, do this now, then cover and allow them to simmer gently for 7 or 8 minutes.
If you have made the dumplings in a pot of salted water, add the cooked dumplings to the pot and stir slightly to coat with the stew. Serve the stew in a soup tureen with parsley sprigs for garnish on top.
My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.
1 whole chicken, cut up (freeze back and wingtips for another batch of stock)
6 carrots, peeled and sliced into coin shapes
3 large onions, chopped coarsely
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper (preferably white pepper)
Pinch saffron, crushed, optional
THICKENING:
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup cold water
---
1 cup heavy cream, optional
---
1 recipe Butter & Egg Dumplings, made ahead or on the stew, as preferred
---
1 cup frozen peas
Place the chicken pieces into a wide stew pot or Dutch oven and cover with the chicken stock. Turn on heat and bring to boil, adding in the onion, carrot and garlic with the salt and pepper. Once boiling, skim off any foam that accumulates on top. Once foaming subsides, add in the saffron, lower heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken pieces from the pot to a plate to cool. Once cooled, remove the chicken from the bones, discarding bones, skin and cartilage. Add the meat back to the pot.
Briskly whisk together the flour and cold water. Pour into the pot through a sieve, then stir briskly to distribute evenly. Allow the stew to cook gently for a few minutes to thicken slightly. Pour in the heavy cream, if using, and add in the peas. If making the dumplings directly on top of the stew, do this now, then cover and allow them to simmer gently for 7 or 8 minutes.
If you have made the dumplings in a pot of salted water, add the cooked dumplings to the pot and stir slightly to coat with the stew. Serve the stew in a soup tureen with parsley sprigs for garnish on top.
My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.
No comments:
Post a Comment