Old-Fashioned Chicken and Fluffy Dumplings Recipe

Ingredients

Tick each one off as you go.

For the stew

• 3 ¼ lb (1500 g) bone-in chicken thighs (about 6)
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 3 carrots, thickly sliced
• 3 sticks celery, sliced
• 2 bay leaves & 1 tsp thyme
• 6 ¼ cups (1500 ml) chicken stock
• 50 g butter & 40 g all-purpose flour
• 100 ml cream (optional)

For the dumplings

• 2 ⅛ cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder & 1 tsp salt
• 3 ½ tablespoons (50 g) cold butter, cubed
• ¾ cup (175 ml) milk
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley

Method

1. Make the broth. Chicken, vegetables, herbs and stock into a big pot. Bring to a bare simmer and cook, partly covered, 45 minutes until the chicken falls off the bone.
2. Shred. Lift out the chicken; throw out the skin and bones, shred the meat. Leave the vegetables in — this is a homely pot, not a restaurant one.
3. Thicken. Melt the butter in the pot, stir in the flour a minute, whisk the broth back in. Return the chicken, add the cream if using, season well. Keep it at a gentle simmer.
4. Dumpling dough. Rub the cold butter into the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the milk and parsley — a soft, sticky dough. Don't overmix.
5. Drop & steam — NO PEEKING. Drop heaped tablespoons onto the simmering stew. Lid on tight, 15 minutes, and the lid does not move. Test one with a skewer, rest 5 minutes, serve in wide bowls.