Chicken Stew & Dumplings Recipe

Ingredients

• ▢ 8 skinless and boneless chicken thigh fillets - (about 720g/1.5lbs), quartered

• ▢ 3 carrots - peeled and chopped into chunks

• ▢ 3 medium sized potatoes - peeled and chopped into small chunks

• ▢ 2 sticks of celery - sliced

• ▢ ½ tsp salt

• ▢ ½ tsp black pepper

• ▢ 1 tsp dried thyme

• ▢ 1.2 litres (5 cups) chicken stock - (water plus 3 stock cubes is fine)

• ▢ 45 g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter

• ▢ 1 large onion - peeled and finely chopped

• ▢ 50 g (½ cup minus 1 tbsp) plain (all-purpose) flour

• ▢ 240 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

• ▢ 3 tsp baking powder

• ▢ 100 g (1 packed cup) grated strong cheddar

• ▢ ½ tsp dried parsley

• ▢ 2 tbsp unsalted butter - melted

• ▢ 180 ml (¾ cup) milk

• ▢ Freshly chopped parsley

Instructions

1. Add the chicken, carrots, potatoes, celery, salt, pepper, thyme and stock to a large saucepan. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 15 minutes and then turn off the heat.
2. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F (fan).
3. When the chicken and vegetables are cooked, melt the butter in a large, deep casserole dish, over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5-6 minutes, stirring often, until softened.
4. Add in the flour and mix it into the onions and butter using a balloon whisk. It should form into a creamy paste (a roux).
5. Allow the roux to cook for a minute whilst stirring with your whisk, then add in a ladle of the stock from the chicken broth (try to get mostly stock - not the chicken/veggies). Stir the broth into the mixture, using your whisk.
6. Repeat this until you have ladled out most of the stock from the chicken pan. Bring to the boil, and simmer gently, while stirring for a couple of minutes, until the sauce thickens.
7. Then pour the remaining stock, plus the chicken and vegetables into the pan with the thickened sauce.
8. Allow to simmer for a few minutes, while you make the dumplings.
9. Place the flour, baking powder, cheese and parsley to a bowl and mix together.
10. Add the melted butter and three-quarters of the milk, stir together until you get a sticky dough – adding more milk if needed.
11. Turn off the heat on the pan with the chicken. Add large blobs of the dumpling mixture to the top of the casserole using two spoons.
12. Place in the oven to cook for 15-20 minutes, until the dumplings are lightly browned.
13. Take out of the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving, topped with fresh parsley.