Chicken Stew with Herbed Dumplings

Ingredients:

For the Stew:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Olive oil (for sautéing)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or 1 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 cups water
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp cream cheese

For the Herbed Dumplings:

• 2 cups cake flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs (sage, thyme, rosemary)
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 3/4 cup milk

Instructions:

For the Stew:

1. Cook the Chicken:
   • Brown the chicken breasts in a large pot with a bit of olive oil until they are golden brown on both sides. Add enough water to cover the chicken and cook until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Remove the chicken from the pot and shred with two forks. Set aside.
2. Sauté the Vegetables:
   • In a large soup pot, heat some olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion and celery. Sauté until the vegetables are translucent.
   • Add the minced garlic (or garlic powder), salt, and pepper. Sauté for another minute.
3. Create the Base:
   • Sprinkle the flour over the sautéed vegetables and stir to combine, cooking for about 1-2 minutes.
   • Add the sherry to the pot and let it cook down for a couple of minutes.
4. Build the Stew:
   • Pour in the vegetable stock and water. Stir well to combine and bring to a gentle boil.
   • Add the diced carrots, potatoes, and shredded chicken. Stir in the dried sage, thyme, rosemary, smoked paprika, Worcestershire sauce, and cream cheese. Allow the cream cheese to melt and incorporate into the broth.
5. Thicken the Stew:
   • Ladle about 2 cups of the broth and potatoes into a blender. Blend until smooth and then return the mixture to the pot to thicken the stew.
   • Stir in the heavy cream and let the stew simmer while you prepare the dumplings.

For the Herbed Dumplings:

1. Prepare the Dumpling Dough:
   • In a mixing bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, salt, and dried herbs.
   • Add the melted butter and milk to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined to form a dough.
2. Cook the Dumplings:
   • Drop hefty teaspoon-sized balls of the dough into the simmering stew, ensuring not to overcrowd the pot as the dumplings will double in size.
   • Cover the pot and let the dumplings simmer for 15 minutes. Do not peek during this time as the steam is necessary for proper cooking.
   • After 15 minutes, test the dumplings by inserting a knife. If it comes out clean, the dumplings are done.
3. Final Touches:
   • Taste the stew and adjust the seasoning with additional salt, pepper, or herbs as needed.

Serve:

• Ladle the stew into bowls, ensuring each serving has a good amount of both stew and dumplings. Enjoy this comforting and flavorful dish!

This dish combines the richness of the chicken stew with the light and fluffy texture of herbed dumplings, making it a perfect meal for a cozy night in. The addition of cream cheese and Worcestershire sauce adds a unique twist to the classic recipe, enhancing the overall depth of flavor. Enjoy your improvisational creation!

Your improvisational chicken stew with herbed dumplings sounds absolutely delicious! It’s great to experiment in the kitchen and play with different flavors and techniques. Your process of browning the chicken, sautéing the vegetables, and adding herbs and spices along the way sounds like it would create a wonderfully flavorful and hearty stew.

Adding cream, sherry, and a blend of herbs like sage, thyme, and rosemary must have given the stew a rich and aromatic base. Blending some of the broth and potatoes to thicken the soup is a fantastic idea to achieve that creamy texture.

The herbed dumplings sound like the perfect addition to this comforting stew, and your technique of dropping them into the simmering soup to cook in the steam is spot on. The combination of cake flour, baking powder, melted butter, and milk would create tender and fluffy dumplings that soak up all the flavors of the stew.

Overall, your improvisation resulted in a flavorful and comforting dish that’s perfect for a cozy night in. It’s clear that you have a good sense of flavors and cooking techniques, and your willingness to experiment in the kitchen paid off with a delicious meal!

Chicken Stew with Herbed Dumplings

So…I was a little loosey goosey with the recipe. I just read a bunch of different recipes and played with whatever sounded good. First I browned a couple boneless, skinless chicken breasts, then covered then in water and cooked until an internal temp of 165. I took it out of the pot and shredded it with a couple forks.

Then in a larger soup pan, i sauteed some onion and celery in some olive oil. I threw in some garlic powder and salt and pepper. When they got a bit translucent, i added like 3 tbsp of flour and mixed in with the onions and celery. Then i added a bit of sherry and let that cook off/ down a bit before adding veggie stock and water.
I added carrots and potatoes and the shredded chicken. I added lots of herbs (sage, thyme, rosemary, etc) and more salt and pepper. I added some cream. I ladled a bit of the broth and potatoes (maybe 2 cups?) into a small blender. I blended it and then added it back to the soup…. this thickened things up.

When the soup was basically ready, I made the dumpling mixture which was 2 cups cake flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 3/4 tsp salt and more chopped herbs sifted together. Added 2 tbsp melted butter and 3/4 cup of milk to the dry ingredients and stirred until just mixed. Took that “dough” and dropped hefty tsp sized balls into the top of the simmering soup (the balls double in size so be careful how many you add… don’t over crowd then). Then cover and let simmer for 15 min (dont peek! Dumplings need the steam to cook properly). After 15 min i tested the dumplings by poking with a knife, which came out clean so I knew they were done. And throughout i kept tasting and adding herbs and salt as needed.

Oh! And I also threw in some smoked paprika, a dash of worchestershire sauce, and a little cream cheese at some point in the process. It was a really improvisational night!