Week 6 - Old World Chicken and Dumplings

These drop dumplings are out of this world! If you are looking for a southern dumpling then move on....These dumplings are easier to make. No rolling or cutting are necessary.

I found out while planning this video series that my mom's best cherished recipe was actually from my Grandmother. As a child, this was a favorite of mine and my siblings. They are a dense dumpling without any baking powder or soda to make them fluffy. If you want something fluffy, make bisquits!

Quite the lesson was learned making this delicious dish. Do not use purple carrots to make soup. All the beautiful purple left my carrots and leached into the soup. Leaving it a dingy brown color. I had made this dish a few months back and took photos made with regular carrots. Below is the picture of my chicken and dumplings made with regular carrots. And the purple carrots so you will see the difference.

Chicken And Dumplings

10 cups chicken stock (I used half homemade, half water and added soup base)

2 large chicken breasts (you can add as much meat as you want)

4 - 6 carrots sliced (personal preference)

2 stalks celery sliced

1/2 large onion diced

2 T dried parsley or 1/2 cup of chopped fresh (again personal preference as to how much)

1 bayleaf

1/2 t thyme (optional)

6 large eggs

2 1/2 to 2 3/4 all-purpose flour (read below and watch the video)

1 T olive oil or butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

Soup base if necessary

Add oil, onions, carrots, and celery to stock pot and saute with 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Saute approx. 5 mins on medium heat.

Add 10 cups of stock, parsley, bayleaf, and thyme (optional) to the vegetables. Bring to a boil then simmer for 1 or more hours until vegetables are fully cooked.

While stock and veggies are simmering it is dumpling time. Crack and beat your 6 eggs in a large bowl with 1 teaspoon salt. Fold in the flour. Do not over stir. This makes for tough dumplings. I made this dough 3 times, with 3 different results depending on which eggs I used and if my flour had settled. I bought large eggs from 3 different locations.

Consistency is key, not exact measurement of flour. And don't stress out!!!! If you don't get it right it will be fine. So what if they are a little too eggy. And so what if you added too much flour. It will still be edible! You will get it. The video shows a close up of how the dough should look. Learn to eyeball......

After your stock and veggies have simmered for an hour, it is time to assess the flavor of your stock. Not all stocks are made equal. You may have chosen to do what the video shows and use 1/2 stock 1/2 water. Whatever the situation you need to taste the stock and see if it needs some extra UMF. (is that a word?) This is where soup base comes in handy. Add 1 teaspoon at a time and taste the soup again. Soup base is salty so it is best to add it slowly to get the exact flavor you desire. Add pepper too if you would like.

Nothing takes the place of homemade stock. Let's face it though....it is time consuming and NOT necessary to make a good pot of soup. I was raised on homemade stocks but I do not always use them and my family never seems to complain.

Once you have your stock tasting just the way you would like it's time to add the dumplings!

Bring stock up to a boil and start dropping dumplings in. Try to keep dumplings about 1 tablespoon in size. Once all dumplings have been dropped let soup simmer approx 30 minutes for egg to cook. Then serve. The dumplings are filling so bread isn't necessary with this soup. A delicious salad would add to!

6 servings

Made with orange carrots

Made with 2 purple carrots

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