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| She has risen! |
My great grandmother could often be found at the bar, positioned to see her
“stories” (aka soap operas) on T.V. and rolling dough and sprinkling flour with those big, soft
hands of hers. My favorite dish was chicken and dumplings.
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| Makes me feel connected to something bigger. |
Now, I’m sure she
would have been perplexed by the version of her dish that I made up during the
holidays this year. But dang, it was delicious (and nutritious).
So I present
to you, another hipster-healthy spin on a traditional favorite: Sourdough
Chicken and Dumplings.
Ingredients (entirely flexible):
- Bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces
- Water (and/or broth of any kind)
- Milk or cream (any kind, but the thicker the better)
- Ghee or butter
- Broth enhancing herbs and spices (garlic, onion, celery, ginger, salt, white or black pepper, lemon, carrot…whatever you have on hand that calls to you from the depths of your cabinets and fridge)
- An unbaked, but risen sourdough loaf (see up to step 4 at http://heatherdiamondhealth.blogspot.com/2016/05/baking-old-world-style-bread.html)
- Extra flour (any kind) for dusting your dumplings (which is SO fun to say)
Method (only minimally methodical):
- Fill your large stock pot with water/broth/milk/cream/herbs/spices/veggies/butter/ghee and chicken pieces (Don’t worry about amounts of broth ingredients because you can adjust according to your tastes once the chicken is cooked.)
- Cover and bring to a boil, then uncover and simmer on medium/high for 30-40 minutes, until chicken is cooked
- While chicken is boiling, use a rolling pin or glass bottle to roll out your unbaked sourdough loaf on a flour-dusted surface…as thin as you can get it
- Dust the flattened dough with loose flour
- Use a pizza cutter or knife to slice the dough into shapes about the size of the palm of a small hand
- Once chicken is cooked, turn broth down to low, remove chicken pieces and let chicken cool in sink while you taste the broth and adjust the flavor to your liking with more of whatever flavors you want
- Separate chicken meat from skin and bones, adding bite sized pieces back to the simmering broth and discarding the skin and bones (or saving for a bone broth as described at http://heatherdiamondhealth.blogspot.com/2016/06/meat-bones-crockpot-marathon.html)
- Bring broth to a boil and use a wooden spoon to gently stir as you place each dumpling individually onto the top of the broth…pausing after every 3 or so (each dumpling will at first sink, then rise back up to the surface as it cooks)
- Do not shake the extra flour off, because it helps thicken your broth into a sauce
- After the final dumpling is in, let them boil and the broth thicken for about 15 more minutes.
Serve and savor!
Freezes well in mason jars.
Expect sourdough dumplings to be a bit more pasta-like than
doughy.
Expect to feel energized and healed by the super-power,
digestive nutrients in this dish!
Heather Diamond Health
…gently inviting ease and pleasure into your kitchen.
