Chicken and Fluffy Herbed Dumplings
I have been dreaming about chicken and dumplings for several weeks. I even laid the ground work for the perfect soup base to my dumplings by making my own chicken broth last week. So today was the day! Chicken and Dumplings is Shep’s favorite meal & I could just see his excitement as I imagined telling him what was in store for our Easter Sunday lunch. And I was right – he was so excited!
His favorite part is the dumplings, and in the past ((to save time)) I have quartered canned biscuits and used them to make dumplings. But no store-bought ingredients for Easter!! I whipped up this meal the old-fashioned way…from scratch!
Dumplings from scratch may seem a bit intimidating, but they are NOT! Just take it one step at a time, get organized and you will be sure to love these fluffy herbed dumplings as much as we did.
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A few simple adjustments to a traditional Chicken and Dumpling — and you suddenly have a meal worthy of Easter!
1 – Make your own broth (it’s easy and better for you) follow these steps.
2 – Use a great white wine to deglaze the pot (your taste buds will thank you).
3 – Fresh herbs: grow them and use them (please). While the dumplings are steaming, these little, bright green herbs do something so magical. They infuse the fluffy dumplings with just the perfect amount of brightness & freshness. If you imagine bland ((or even just salty and peppery)) when you think of traditional dumplings…one bite of these heavenly fluff pillows and your mind will be changed (forever).
4 – Rotisserie chicken — it’s a good thing, you know what I mean?
- 1/2 c flour
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1 c carrots, sliced
- 1 c celery, sliced
- 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
- 6 c chicken broth (I used no sodium homemade broth)
- 8 oz white wine, good quality
- 1 c cream
- 2 bay leaves
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 t seasoned salt
- 2 T fresh thyme, leaves removed from stem
- 2 T fresh chives, chopped
- 1/2 c fresh parsley, chopped
- 3-4 c diced cooked chicken breast meat (I used the breasts from 2 rotisserie chickens)
- 2 2/3 c flour
- 1 T baking powder
- 1 t baking soda
- 1/2 t sea salt
- 2 pinches of sugar ((not quite 1/2 t))
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 5 T melted butter (cooled)
- 1 c buttermilk*
- 2 T fresh thyme, leaves removed from stem & chopped
- 2 T fresh chives, chopped
- 1 c fresh parsley, chopped
- Over medium heat in a large stock pot, add flour and butter. Stir until butter is melted, combined with the flour, thickened and turning a medium golden color. Add veggies and cook for about 5 minutes, while stirring. Next, add wine and cook for 2 minutes in order to deglaze the pot and allow the alcohol to cook off. Pour broth & cream into the pot, stirring rapidly in order to completely incorporate the flour mixture into the liquid.
- Add bay leaves, herbs, and chicken. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add both salts and pepper (to taste).
- While soup is simmering, combine dumpling dry ingredients & herbs and give them a quick stir with a whisk to combine. Add melted butter and half of the milk, stir. Continue to drizzle remaining milk over the dumpling mixture until the dumpling mixture forms a sticky ball (not too wet). Cover the dumpling mixture with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap & let sit for 10 minutes.
- Using a 2 T scoop, scoop the dumplings into the simmering soup. (makes about 2 doz dumplings)
- Once all the dumplings have been dropped into the pot IMMEDIATELY cover the pot with the lid. DO NOT lift the lid! Leave it covered while simmering for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave covered for 10 more minutes.
- Remove lid and serve.
- *Don't have buttermilk?? That's okay - neither did I...Just add 1-2 T fresh lemon juice to 1 c milk. Stir and let site for 2 minutes. Then add to the flour mixture following instructions detailed above.