Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and dumplings is a basic comfort food, good for a cold day. The original recipe, from a duct-tape bound cookbook that I have since lost, used only the egg yolks in the dumplings. I haven’t found much difference in the texture or taste, and thus use the whole egg.

Plain yogurt can be substituted for the sour cream. I have not tried substituting tofu in this recipe, though it would probably work okay if you used smaller chunks of extra-firm. Cook time is limited by the thickness of the carrots, but allow about 45 minutes from start to finish.

Chicken and Dumplings, www.wt8p.com
4 chicken breasts — remove the fat/bone and chop into 1″ cubes
2 t paprika
1 t ground pepper
1/2 C flour

4 T olive oil
2 T butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 large carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 C sour cream
3 C broth
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
Dumplings: (can be doubled or tripled)
1 C flour
3 eggs

1. Cube the chicken. In a baggie, mix the 1/2 C flour, paprika, and pepper. Add the chicken cubes and churn until they’re coated.
2. Heat the olive oil and butter (on medium — olive oil and butter burn if they get too hot) in a large Dutch oven. Add the onion, garlic, celery, carrots and bay leaf and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Scoot the veggies to the side and add the chicken, cooking it about 3 minutes per side, or until it’s generally browned. Don’t worry about the flour sticking to the bottom because it will come off easily later.
4. Add the broth — just enough to cover the chicken. Turn down the heat to medium low and cook about 15 minutes or until the carrots are adequately softened.
5. Boil a pot of water.
6. Make the dumpling mixture: add the 3 eggs, 1 C water and 6 half-eggshells full of water. Mix well. You want a moderately thick mixture for firm dumplings; otherwise, they’ll just turn into a mush and absorb the sauce. Add 2T sized portions of dumpling mixture to the boiling water. Cook until it starts to float (about 1 minute), then scoop them out and add to the Dutch oven. The dumplings will absorb some of the vegetable broth and expand.
7. After the dumplings are done, stir in the sour cream. Remove the bay leaf and serve with freshly ground pepper.