Ingredients
Chicken and Stock:
- 1 (3 to 31/2 pound) whole organic chicken
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 sprigs thyme
- 4 to 5 black peppercorns
- 1 head garlic, split through the equator
- 2 tablespoons salt
Directions
Buttermilk-Chive Dumplings:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup chopped chives
- 3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen pearl onions
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish
- Chopped chives, for garnish
For the stock:
Place the chicken and all stock ingredients in a large Dutch oven and cover with water. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour until the chicken is tender. Skim the surface of fat and scum as it cooks.
When done remove the chicken to a cutting board. Strain the stock and shred the meat into big pieces - the stock will be used for the sauce and the chicken will be folded into it.
For the dumplings:
Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, using a whisk, lightly beat the eggs, chives and buttermilk together; pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together; the batter should be thick and cake-like.
To prepare sauce: In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, add the butter and oil. Add the carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaves and saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes to coat the flour and remove the starchy taste. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add frozen peas and pearl onions.
Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream.
Fold the reserved shredded chicken into the sauce and bring up to a simmer. Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching or crowded. Let the dumplings poach for 10 to 15 minutes until they are firm and puffy. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped chives before serving.


















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By kathleenunsell
Murrieta, CA
on February 07, 2012
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OK!!!! This is it!!! Absolutely awesome! Perfect in everyway....what else can I say?
By karakick03_12417398
Winchester, 86
on January 28, 2012
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My husband loves Chicken and Dumplings so I decided to give it a try, this recipe is easy to follow and came out awesome, he said it was the best he's tasted! I've made it a handful of times since then and it's always been a big hit, I didn't change anything about the recipe.
By madi0887
on January 18, 2012
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This may be the best thing I have ever eaten! I used a 5lb roasting chicken and I did add more chicken stock than the sauce calls for. Just added more corn starch to thicken up at the end. I did not shred the chicken, as I like it chunky for chicken and dumplings. I did not think it was salty either, but I did use flake sea salt and not table salt. The dumplings are yummy and I was able to just keep adding more to the pan. I would skim off the cooked ones and add more batter. They even held up leftover! Makes enough for multiple meals. I agree that this would make awesome chicken pot pie filling as well!
I will be making this dish many times this winter!
Read all 248 reviews