Could there be a more perfect comfort food, particularly for these cold weather days, than chicken and dumplings? It's not something I make often since I try to limit carbs and fats. If I do make it, I tend to use a lightened recipe. This time, though, I was looking for the "full Monty" and this recipe, with some slight modifications, delivered.
I had bought the November issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine and tore this recipe out. I will say I was surprised that it was a poorly written recipe, missing steps and without the usual fine detail of a Martha Stewart recipe. A staff member's name was on it. Below is my version, edited a bit for clarity, but without much change to the ingredients. (OK, I used just a tad less fat and added the parsnips.) I recommend reading through the recipe first so you can do all the chopping at once.
INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 - 3 lbs bone in, chicken thighs
4 cups water
2 tsp Kosher salt
For the broth:
3 tbs butter
1 medium diced onion
3 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 parsnips, peeled and diced
8 oz red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup flour
1 cup frozen sweet peas
3 tbs chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
For the dumplings:
1 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tbs chopped parsley
2 tsp baking powder
4 tbs cold butter
3/4 cup milk
MAKE THE BROTH AND COOK THE CHICKEN
Combine the chicken thighs, the water, and the Kosher salt in a large Dutch oven. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium low and simmer, partially covered, until chicken is cooked--20-30 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate, let cool, then discard skin and bones and shred the meat into bite-sized pieces. Strain the broth. You should have 4 cups; if not, add more water.
MAKE THE ROUX
Melt 4 tbs of butter in the Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, parsnips, potatoes, and thyme. Cook, stirring, until onion is translucent, 5-6 minutes. Sprinkle with the 1/4 cup of flour and cook about 1 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in the reserved 4 cups of strained broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until veggies are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in chicken, peas, parsley, and season with salt and pepper.
MAKE THE DUMPLINGS
While the veggies simmer, whisk together the flour, salt, pepper, baking powder, and parsley. Cut in 4 tbs cold butter. Stir in the milk until the dough holds together. Drop 8 heaping spoonsful of dough on top of the chicken and veggies mixture. Cover and simmer until dumplings are cooked through, 12-15 minutes.
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TASTE NOTES
It's a good thing there's a bit of prep involved in this dish, or I'd be making it much more often. At 15-18 Smart Points a srving (that's Weight Watcher talk), it's very close to my daily allocation. But, oh, my, was it ever worth it! The carrots and parsnips rendered a sweet, flavorful broth. The dumpling was swoon worthy. Somewhere between a stew and a soup, this chicken and dumplings is love in a bowl. The entire dish was like being wrapped in a big, fluffy blanket. It was well worth the bit of effort.
