Tuesday, July 7, 2015

South of the Border Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and Dumplings are a classic and wonderful comfort food, filling and hearty, especially during a chilly night.  I enjoy making this dish for my family every now and then, but this time I wanted to add a different sort of flair to the old fashioned, deviating from my normal recipe, to create an equally palate pleasing one-dish and fantastic meal.
 I made the dumplings using a mixture of corn muffin mix and flour, and added Latin American commodities  like cumin, chili powder and diced tomatoes to bring the dish together. This dish was very well received by the family and I have since created yet another Latin inspired version, with a smoother, more cream soup like texture.  Stay tuned for the recipe in the near future.  I used bone-in skinless thighs for this version, but feel free to use the protein or chicken parts of your choice.
Recipe:
2 lbs. bone-in, skinless thighs
1 medium onion, small diced, about 3/4 cup
2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
1 bay leaf
4 c. chicken stock or enough to cover chicken while cooking
3 stalks celery, one halved, 2 sliced on bias
3 carrots, sliced
1 12 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
1 box corn muffin mix
1/2 c. AP flour
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. sugar or to taste
2 tbsp.  butter
1/3 c. milk, or enough to moisten dumpling batter
1/2 c. fresh parsley, rough chopped
SPST (Salt and Pepper to Suit Taste)
olive oil for drizzling
Drizzle medium pot with olive oil over medium heat.
 Add onions, halved celery and bay leaf.
Cook for several minutes until onions are translucent and fragrant and add chicken and garlic.
SPST.
Turn heat to medium high and add stock enough to cover chicken.
Bring up to a boil and skim top of boiling liquid.
Reduce back to medium, cooking chicken until no longer pink and done throughout, about 15 minutes.
When done, remove chicken from liquid, drizzle with olive oil, cover and set aside.
Strain liquid and return to pot.
Add sliced celery and carrots.
In a small bowl, combine corn muffin mix, spices, sugar and flour.
Moisten with milk.
Stir until incorporated and batter can be dropped by tablespoonfuls into gently cooking liquid.
Cover and cook until dumplings are cooked through, about 8 minutes.
The dumplings will cook apart slightly and this will serve as the thickening agent  and add texture.
Carefully add chicken and tomatoes back to dumplings and reduce to low.
Stir in parsley and butter.
Serves 4 to 6.







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