Classic Chicken and Dumplings

I can only remember eating Chicken and Dumplings a few times as a child and my husband doesn’t think it was ever served at his table. But my kids love biscuits and this seemed a good variation on Chicken Noodle Soup. We typically roast a whole local chicken when poultry is on the menu. So dishes like this that take advantage of everything that’s left over after we enjoy our first night’s dinner of chicken breasts are perfect for our table. There’s nothing too fancy here, but the fun of cooking the biscuits in the hot broth and eating them from the soup bowl with a spoon was a highlight of our meal. Feel free to roast chicken thighs rather than a whole bird. Each thigh should yield about a cup of meat.

Makes six servings.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, stripped from stem and diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 tsp. fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. finely ground black pepper
• 4 cups roasted chicken, shredded
• 6 cups broth or water or a combination, divided
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 Tbsp. aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 6 Tbsp. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, stemmed and diced

Instructions

1. Heat oil in cast iron Dutch oven on medium-high setting. Add onion, celery, carrots, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper to pot. Cook until vegetables have softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Add chicken and four cups broth. Heat until chicken is warmed and liquid is bubbling.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup flour and 2 cups broth until well mixed. Add this mixture into Dutch oven and whisk 8 to 10 minutes until the liquid has thickened into a sauce.
4. In small bowl, whisk 2 cups flour with baking powder and baking soda. Stir in butter and then buttermilk until a sticky dough has formed. You may need to add a little water if the flour mixture is not incorporating completely into the dough.
5. Reduce heat under the Dutch oven to low, bringing the chicken mixture to a simmer. Drop tablespoons full of batter into chicken mixture. Should make about 10 dumplings. Cover Dutch oven and simmer for 10-12 minutes until dumplings are firm.
6. Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve warm.