Daddy always loves coming in to a warm house smelling some good cooking! This afternoon, Jason was chopping wood, and it started to snow. We had already fed the starter for the dumplings the night before and we were ready to settle in for a cozy, winter night.
We had some golden, rich broth that was made the day before just waiting to be used in a savory dish. This dish not only feeds crowds, but the colder months is a great excuse to serve this to your family!
Typically, I will make this in my cast iron skillets or dutch oven, but we were in the middle of a kitchen remodel at the time. There had been some shuffling going on, and you just roll with what you have, right?
Click on the live video for more; written recipe is below.
Ingredients for soup:
2 lbs. cooked, shredded chicken
2 large carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 potatoes, diced
1 large onion, diced
3/4 tsp. ground sage
3/4 tsp. ground thyme
3/4 tsp. ground rosemary
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 1/2 c. chicken broth
1 1/2 c. frozen peas
Ingredients for dumplings:
Prepare dumplings the night before
Making sure your starter is active (click here for that recipe)
In separate bowl add:
3/4 c. buttermilk
1 c. white whole wheat or spelt flour
1/2 c. starter and stir together until incorporated
Cover with towel and set aside for 24 hrs.
Boil chicken in stock pot until chicken is cooked through. Save broth. Shred chicken, set aside. (Most often, I do this step the day before. It makes the next day go much smoother.)
Add diced carrots, celery, potatoes, and onion to broth in a Dutch oven. Boil vegetables in broth until tender, 5-7 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare your dumplings by adding ingredients listed below to your dough from the night before:
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. each sage, thyme, rosemary
Stir until incorporated. Set aside.
When vegetables are tender, stir in seasonings, frozen peas, and shredded chicken. Bring to a simmer.
Drop dough, one large scoop at a time, over the simmering stew, making about 12 dumplings. Adjust heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cover and cook undisturbed until dumplings are cooked through (about 12-15 minutes).
It does seem like you are in the kitchen quite a bit preparing this savory dish, but I assure you, it is well worth the investment made. Many blessings friends!
Natalie