Yesterday morning I awoke feeling overwhelmed by conditions around our nation. None of which I or most of my fellow Americans have absolutely any control. Coronavirus is still alive and well. Social injustice protests (which I whole heartily support BTW), even peaceful demonstrations, were still being met in a military fashion by fellow Americans. Radical opportunists were still making things worse by displaying guns and using threatening gestures to stir up even more dissent. Even though I’m sure the only thing most of these rough guys really cared about was getting to play the second amendment big old white guy with gun card. And worst of all, our nation’s leaders still more concerned with aggrandizing their personally perceived accomplishments, rather than leading our country from a position of true concern and humanity.
And then here I am, almost 76 years old, blessed with everything I need to live a wonderful, fulfilling rest of my life. And yet, I couldn’t seem to reconcile my happiness with the hurt, unfairness, and hate that has been shown to others simply because of skin color, sexual persuasion, faith affiliation, economic disparity, or any of the other myriad differences that keep people apart. I felt simply at a loss as to how to proceed.
So based on my mind set yesterday, I decided to prepare comfort food for our dinner last evening. And believe it or not, it helped. There is just something about chicken soup/stew that makes things, if not actually better, just a little more tolerable.
So if you too could use some comfort, let me recommend this recipe. The stew is easy to prepare and absolutely delicious. The dumplings are light and airy and perfectly seasoned.
So as always – stay safe, wear a mask when appropriate, and let your example of goodness speak for itself. And in case you were wondering – I feel better today. Some days are just easier than others.
Stew:
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. butter
4-5 (1½ – 2 lbs.) large boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat and cut into small bite sized chunks
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
½ tsp. dried thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1 T. dried parsley
1 T. chicken flavored Better Than Bouillon
3½ c. water
1 c. whole milk (low fat or 2% is fine)
1/3 c. flour
chopped fresh parsley, opt.
In a large covered pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil and butter over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, and cook until the meat is lightly browned and cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add the onion, carrots, and celery; sauté for 6-7 minutes or until the veggies begin to soften and brown.
Stir in the granulated garlic, poultry seasoning, thyme, bay leaf, parsley, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper. Stir in the Better Than Bullion and the water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover the pot, and allow stew to simmer for about 30 minutes to combine flavors. Meanwhile prepare the dumpling batter.
After the stew has simmered for 30 minutes or so, add the cooked chicken along with any accumulated juices. Taste and adjust seasoning.
In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and flour. Slowly add the milk/flour mixture to the pot, stirring to combine all the ingredients. Bring mixture to a low boil and cook for a minute or two or until the stew thickens up a bit.
Using an ice cream scoop (you want the balls of dough to be about golf ball size), drop the dumpling balls on top of the simmering stew, about ¼-inch apart. If you aren’t already cooking the stew at the lowest temperature on your stove burner, do so now. Cover and cook until the dumplings have doubled in size, about 15 minutes. (Don’t even think about peeking at the dumplings before the 15 minutes are up. After that you may take a gander. The dumplings should feel dry to the touch when they are done. If in doubt, run a toothpick through one. If it comes out clean, the dumplings are perfect.)
Serve the stew piping hot topped with dumplings and garnished with fresh parsley. This is a one dish dinner. At least it is in our house!
Dumplings:
1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 c. sourdough starter
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 egg
1 T. minced dried onions
1 T. dried parsley
In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper together. Add the sourdough starter, oil, egg, dried onions, and dried parsley. Stir until well combined. Let the batter sit for 5-10 minutes or until the stew is ready for the dumplings to be added.