Ingredients:
Chicken and broth:
3 quarts water
1 3- to 4-pound chicken, cut up
11/2 teaspoons salt
1 small onion, sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and quartered
1 bay leaf
3 to 6 whole parsley leaves
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Dumplins:
2 cups all-purpose flour, see note
1 tablespoon baking powder, see note
11/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
Directions:
Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add the chicken, 1 teaspoon of salt, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf and parsley to the pot. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook the chicken, uncovered, for 2 hours. The liquid will reduce by about one third.
When the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot and set it aside. Strain the stock to remove all the vegetables and floating scum. You want only the stock and the chicken, so toss everything else out.
Pour 11/2 quarts (6 cups) of the stock back into the pot (keep the leftover stock, if any, for another recipe - it can be frozen). Add coarsely ground pepper, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the lemon juice, then reheat the stock over medium heat while preparing the Dumplins.
For the Dumplins, combine the flour, baking powder, 11/4 teaspoons salt and milk in a medium bowl. Stir well until smooth, then let the dough rest for 5 to 20 minutes. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to about a 1/2-inch thickness.
Cut the dough into 1/2-inch squares and drop each square into the simmering stock. Use all of the dough. The Dumplins will first swell and then slowly shrink as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until thick. Stir often.
While the stock is thickening, the chicken will have become cool enough to handle. Tear all the meat from the bones and remove the skin. Cut the chicken neatly into bite-size pieces and drop them into the pot. Discard the skin and bones. Continue to simmer the chicken and dumplings for another 5 to 10 minutes, but don't stir too vigorously or the chicken will shred and fall apart. You want big chunks of chicken in the end.
When the gravy has reached the desired consistency, ladle four portions onto plates and serve hot. Serve with your choice of steamed vegetables, if desired.
Note: We found that we needed about 3/4 cup more flour than the recipe called for. We added 1/4 cup of flour at a time to get the dough to rolling consistency and we added 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder.
Recipe Source: http://old.post-gazette.com/food/19990225mailbox.asp
Recipe Author: Todd Wilbur
Book:
