We are all hoping for a little warm up, at least over here! Since we are inside all day and night, it would be great if we could at least get outside in the back yard and run around a bit. Yet, in the meantime, we will take advantage of the chill in the air and make some awesome comforting soups. Here is the perfect one for a day that you have some time on your hands and there is a chill in the air!
Creamy Chicken and Dumplings
I love this recipe on a chilly day. It takes a little time, but who doe not have time now! Right! Let us take advantage and make these yummy recipes that we usually just wish we had time to make!
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup carrots peeled and diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 cup leeks rinsed, quartered and sliced thin
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp butter unsalted
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 3 cups whole milk
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- For the dumplings:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 4 cups chicken stock homemade or low sodium
Instructions
- Set a heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and warm. Season chicken with kosher salt and pepper, then transfer to the hot pot. Oil should sizzle to indicate pot is hot enough. Sear for 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Let it cool slightly, pull it and then hold it separately for now.
- While chicken cooks, prep veggies and whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt for the dumplings.
- After chicken is set aside, add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pot and set heat to medium. Once warm, add the carrots, celery, leeks and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Sweat veggies until softened, about 5-8 minutes. Do not brown. Stir often.
- Pour the chicken stock into a large saucepan. If liquid isn’t at least 2 inches deep, add 1-2 cups of water. Set over high heat and bring to a boil.
- Whisk or stir 1 cup of milk into flour mixture to make the dumpling batter. Mixture should be firm and sticky, wet but not soggy. If need be, add another 2-3 tablespoons of milk. Once the stock is boiling, use a tablespoon measure or small ice cream scoop to scoop balls of dough into the liquid. After the dumplings float to the surface, cook another 3 minutes or so to cook all the way through. Cut one in half to check doneness. Inside should be dry and airy. Work in batches as necessary, using a slotted spoon to transfer cooked dumplings to a plate or a tray.
- Try not to add more liquid to the stock pot. If the dumplings can no longer float, add a little more water, otherwise, we want this concentrated floury liquid to finish our soup.
- Once the veggies have softened, lower heat, add butter and melt. Then, stir in 1/4 cup of flour. Cook this for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Pour in red wine vinegar and deglaze, or scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Slowly whisk in the milk, being sure to loosen up all that flour from the sides or corners of the pot. Once all the milk is added, increase heat back to medium and let mixture come to a simmer. Stir often.
- Soup will begin to thicken. Add in the shredded chicken. Stir in the chopped parsley. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Lower heat and let soup simmer very gently as the dumplings finish cooking.
- Once the dumplings are all cooked, ladle 1/2-1 cup of the cooking liquid into the pot of soup and stir to combine. If you want your soup thinner, add more of this starchy stock.
- Remember to remove the sprigs of thyme.
- Transfer dumplings to the pot of soup. Warm through then ladle soup and dumplings into bowls and serve hot!
- Keep extra dumplings separate until ready to serve.
Chef’s Tip-This soup is best served hot with saltine crackers, If you have more dumplings than you need to serve for the amount of people you are serving at that moment, keep them par cooked to the side. You can even refrigerate them separately and heat through when you reheat the soup for leftovers! Then you will not have soggy dumplings!
ENJOY!!
