Golden Chicken and Dumplings

Here is an update to a traditional recipe that I created and have used the last few times I've made chicken and dumplings, one of my family's favorite meals. The big difference is that I brown the chicken first, making a nice golden, slightly thickened broth. It's really nice, and easy to do.

Per person you will need:

1-2 pieces of chicken (depending on appetites), with extra skin cut off (I use kitchen shears for this job, leaving some skin on, although you could remove all of the skin, if you don't believe in having any fun. Leaving the skin on, at least for this step, really improves the flavor of the broth. You can remove it before eating.). Cut breasts in half crosswise -- they'll fit into the pot better, cook in about the same time as the other pieces, and it will stretch your servings. I buy a whole cut up fryer, but you could buy all thighs or whole legs too, if you like dark meat.

1 carrot, plus 2 for the pot, peeled and cut into 1" pieces

1/2 medium onion, peeled and kept whole (breaking it into its layers will make it disappear into the dish, and we like to have chunks of onion on our plate!

1 piece celery, cut into 1" pieces, plus a few leaves if you have them

Remember the amounts above are per person.

Dredge chicken pieces in flour and place, skin side down, in the bottom of a large, heavy pot. Cook five minutes over medium heat. Add onions, still whole, finding a place for them to rest against the bottom of the pot. Cook 10 minutes more. Add carrots and celery, sprinkling on top of chicken and onions. (This combining of onions, carrots and celery creates a variation on a mirepoix -- MEER-pwah -- a traditional staple of fine cooking for centuries.)



Cook until onions and chicken are golden brown on both sides, but not completely cooked. Add celery leaves and enough hot water to cover everything and place a lid on top. Cook another 20 minutes, or until carrots are nearly cooked through. See the pretty broth? The browning of the chicken skin gives it it's warm color and rich flavor.



Meanwhile, mix the following for dumplings:

2 C flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1tsp parsley, fresh or dried

Separately, mix:

1 C milk
2 T. oil

When carrots are nearly cooked through, combine wet and dry ingredients for dumplings.** This should result in a very sticky dough, and you should feel a little like you are Brer Rabbit trapped against the tarbaby. Resist the urge to add more flour -- this will make the dumplings very dry. Drop large dollops (about the size of a goose egg) onto chicken pieces, letting the dough sink down slightly into the broth.



Cover and cook another 15 minutes, until dumplings have risen and are firm to the touch. It's quite possible that the broth will reduce, becoming more concentrated over this time, and if so, it's safe to add some water to increase the quantity without diluting the flavor -- perhaps 1 cup of water. Chicken and dumplings is only a shadow of itself without the broth.



You can cut the recipe for dumplings in half for 2-3 people. For our crowd, there are never enough dumplings! They warm up pretty well the next day, so some leftovers can't hurt. While eating, cut your dumplings in half and spoon some broth over them.

Enjoy!

**Why wait to combine dry and wet ingredients for dumplings? Baking powder begins its action as soon as moisture hits it, and this action has a limited lifespan. Best rising results are obtained if the dough is cooked right after the baking powder is moistened.

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