Chicken and Dumplings

Diane Leipper

5 pounds chicken pieces

1 large onion chopped

2 teaspoons salt

2 whole carrots sliced thin

1 & 1/2 teaspoons thyme crumbled

1/2 teaspoon pepper freshly ground

2 whole celery sliced fine

1/2 teaspoon rosemary crumbled

Dumplings (recipe 1)

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons shortening

3 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons parsley minced

3/4 cup milk, 1% lowfat up to 1 cup milk

R inse chicken, place in large pot,cover with water. Add carrots, celery, onion, thyme, rosemary, 2 tsp salt, and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer. Combine flour, baking powder, 1 tsp salt and parsley in bowl. Cut in shortening until resembles course meal. Add milk and stir briefly with fork. Add only enough millk to make dough hold together. When chicken has simmered 20 minutes (or until done - no pink, tender when poked with a fork), drop spoonfuls of dough on top of bubbling broth. Cover and steam for 20 minutes without lifting cover.

Source: Fanny Farmer

Dumplings (recipe 2)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 3

Tablespoons shortening

Combine the flour, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture is consistency of coarse meal. Add the buttermilk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times -- no more.

For drop dumplings, pat the dough down to a 1/4-inch thickness, and pinch off 1-1/2-inch pieces. For rolled dumplings, roll the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness, and cut into 3" x 1" strips. Bring the chicken broth to a boil, and stir in the milk and pepper. Correct seasonings, if desired.

Drop dumplings, one or two at a time, into the boiling broth and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir from time to time to make sure dumplings do not stick together. Cook dumplings 8 to 10 minutes. Add the boned chicken to the mixture and simmer until heated through. Remove from heat. Makes 4 to 6 servings, depending upon appetites.

Notes: Dumpling dough is very similar to biscuit dough and, like biscuit dough, the less it is handled, the lighter and more tender the result.

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