Ratio Chicken & Dumplings

3 tablespoons butter

1 onion, diced

1/3 cup flour

1 quart stock from one chicken carcass (add water if you don’t have a quart)

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional)

2 cups cooked chicken (or 20 ounces boneless chicken thighs, see post
for instructions)

2 carrots large dice

2 ribs celery large dice

freshly ground black pepper

a squeeze of lemon to taste

For the dumplings:

1 cup milk

4 ounces butter (1 stick)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup flour

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon minced tarragon

1 tablespoon minced chives

In a large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion
and cook them till they’re translucent. Stir in the flour and
continue cooking till the flour has a lightly toasted aroma.

Whisk in the stock, and bring it to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low
and add the salt, bay leaf, tomato paste, chicken, carrots and celery
(if you like the celery crunchy, which I do, add it just at the end).

Make the dumplings while the stew finishes cooking:

Combine the milk, butter and salt in a small sauce pan and bring it to
a simmer. When the butter is completely melted, add the flour and
stir until the flour has absorbed the milk and pulls away from the
side of the pan.

Remove it from the heat. Run a little cold water over the outside of
the pan to cool it down a little. Add an egg and stir until it’s
incorporated into the dough. Repeat with the remaining eggs. Then
stir in the tarragon and chives. (The dumplings can be made up to a
day ahead and refrigerated; you can also make a double batch freeze
the extras after you cook them.)

Bring a pot of water to a boil.

Invert a plastic bag over your hand and scoop out the dumpling dough.
Remove the bag from your hand to enclose the dough in the bag to make
a piping bag. Cut a hole in one corner of the bag about 1/2 inch in
diameter.

Pipe the dough into the boiling water, cutting them into inch long
dumplings (to make chicken and dumpling soup, cut the dumplings
directly into the soup). When the dumplings float, remove them to a
paper towel until ready to add to the stew.

Taste the stew for seasoning and add more salt if you wish, freshly
ground black pepper. And for one last little push, a squeeze of
lemon.

Serves 4 to 6

Number of Servings: 6

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user BZARCHER.