Chicken Stew with Dumplings

I do love dumplings! I first tried them when I was living in the UK. Often dumplings over there are made with suet, but that is impossible to find here in France, so I use a recipe that contains flour. This delightful recipe is the perfect Sunday dinner for a cold day.

4 Servings

Ingredients for the Chicken Stew:

1 tbsp butter

Olive oil

4 chicken breasts, diced into bite-sized pieces1

1 branch of celery, finely sliced

1 carrot, finely sliced

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 turnip, cubed

2 heaped tbsp flour

60cl chicken stock

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs of thyme

A glug of apple cider vinegar

Pepper

300gr mushrooms, sliced in halves

Ingredients for the Dumplings:

155gr flour

1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp butter, cut into small cubes

10gr parsley, finely chopped

60ml milk

Instructions:

Heat 1 tbsp butter with a drizzle of olive oil.

Add the onions & simmer on medium heat for 2 minutes.

Add the chicken & brown on all sides.

Add flour & stir 1 minute before adding the carrots, celery, garlic & turnips.

Stir gently as you pour in the stock. Add pepper, bay leaves, thyme & apple cider vinegar.

Cover & cook for 20 minutes. Add the mushrooms & cover again. Prepare your dumplings as you cook the stew for another 20 minutes.

Combine the flour, baking powder & salt. Stir well then add the butter.

Using your fingers, work in the butter until it resembles crumbs.

Stir in the parsley & slowly add the milk.

You should end up with a dense pastry.

Divide into 8 equal parts & roll into balls.

Once the 20 minutes are up, remove the bay leaves & thyme twigs from the stew.

Place each dumpling ball on the surface of the stew. Do not push them into the stew.

Cover with the lid immediately & do not remove the lid until the dumplings are cooked, 15 minutes later.