Chicken and dumplings

Ingredients

Chicken

• 6 large boneless chicken thighs (could have bone it just as easily)
• seasoned flour
• 1 onion finely diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 4 stalks of celery, diced
• small handful of thyme, finely chopped
• a bay leaf or 2
• small handful of parsley finely chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1 litre of chicken stock
• 400ml cider
• oil for sautéing chicken

Dumplings

• 2 cup flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp each of finely minced parsley and thyme
• 2 tbsp butter
• ¾ cup milk

Method

Toss the chicken in seasoned flour to coat. (I do this in a supermarket bag)

Brown the chicken in oil in a heavy bottomed casserole, or pan.

Remove the chicken from the pan and replace with the carrot, onion and celery. Sautee until softened and only faintly coloured, then add the chicken back to the pan and add the thyme and bay, then the chicken stock and cider. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. 

While the chicken simmers make the dumpling mixture. Rub the butter into the flour, add the baking powder, herbs, salt and some pepper, combine well then add the milk and mix until just combined. Set aside.

When the chicken is cooked after 20 mins simmering, remove it from the pot and using a couple of forks, shred the chicken. Return it to the pot, add salt and pepper to taste and bring back to a simmer. 

Spoon in lumps of dumpling dough and cook on a low simmer, covered for another 15 - 20 minutes then stir in the parsley and serve.

Variations:
 
Make it with a whole chicken, shred the meat from the bones. It's the most economical way to make the recipe and gives you the stock. I'd simmer the whole chicken to start with, take it from the pot and allow it to cool. Then start the above by sautéing the onion/carrot/celery and starting back from there.

Make the dumplings with a mixture of wheaten flour and fine cornmeal. You'll need a little more liquid if you use cornmeal. I'd use it in a ratio of 3 parts wheaten to 1 part cornmeal. I made this recipe with some black beans and tomatoes in the broth and a lot of coriander in the soupy liquid and in the cornmeal dumplings.