Chicken n Dumplin Soup the rootinest tootinest
With a homemade broth using saved up vegetable and chicken scraps to waste as little as possible
We do not pronounce the G in “dumplings” in our house. It just feels.. wrong. It’s dumplins or nothin.
This meal will make you feel whole again, at least for a moment. Full of herbaceous flavors, tender chicken, and dumplings that melt in your mouth. To make this recipe, you will need a good chicken stock. This stock can be store-bought but the best thing to do is use all your saved up veggie scraps and chicken bones from the freezer and make the stock from scratch.
Here is my recipe for a good chicken stock using saved up frozen vegetable scraps and chicken scraps:
What else you will need:
A whole head of garlic, halved width-wise
1 bay leaf
4-5 sprigs of thyme
3 carrots, halved
3 stalks of celery, halved
1 yellow onion, halved
Optional: more chicken scraps, gizzards, bones, whatever chicken is available.
Start by preheating your oven to 425.
In a large, rimmed sheet pan, place all your frozen vegetable and chicken scraps. Drizzle olive oil over the top and place in the oven; roasting for 20-30 minutes.
While the scraps are roasting, cut up your other veggies
Add the roasted veggie and chicken scraps to the stockpot, then add about 8-10 cups of water, at least so that the veggies are covered and there is a couple inches of room left in the stockpot.
Add the remaining ingredients (garlic head, bay leaf, thyme, carrot, celery, and onion) and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer, then cover. Let simmer for about 2 hours (or more if you’d like, just don’t let the water evaporate too much).
How to make the soup:
1 yellow onion, diced
4-5 bulbs of garlic, minced
5 stalks of celery, diced
4 carrots, diced
1-2 raw chicken breasts (or 4-5 boneless skinless chicken thighs), diced
1 1/2 cup of frozen peas
1/2 cup of flour
1 tablespoon dried thyme
A squeeze of lemon (or a splash of white vinegar)
Once the chicken stock is done, strain it and place the stock in a separate container. Remember to pull out any bones, but compost all the vegetable scraps. Clean out all the bits and scraps from the stock pot, then place it back on the stove. Heat a couple drizzles of olive oil on medium heat, add the diced onions, chopped carrots, celery, and minced garlic, then cook for about 7 minutes until the onions start to sweat. Add the chicken stock and bring to boil, then reduce to simmer (medium heat)
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and a ladle-full of the chicken stock until smooth, then pour it back into the stock pot, whisking to prevent lumps. Add the diced chicken, and frozen peas. Season with salt, pepper, dried thyme and add a few squeezes of lemon.
While the chicken and veggies are cooking, mix together the dumplin ingredients.
How to make the dumplins:
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2-3 tablespoons of chopped chives
1/2 cup of buttermilk
Simply whisk together all the ingredients until smooth, but do not overmix - some lumps are okay.
To finish the soup:
Drop the dumplin batter into the soup using a spoon, one spoonful at a time. The dumplins will double in size as they cook, so they do not need to be large spoonfuls.
Cover the pot and simmer for 15-20 minutes, but make sure you don’t peak. The dumplins need to steam in order to turn out right, so just let it sit for 15 minutes. Then you can check if the dumplins are fluffy - if not, cover and cook another 5 minutes.
If the dumplins are fluffy, the soup is ready! But taste the broth to see if it needs any more salt, pepper, or seasonings to your taste. This recipe is very good with hot sauce, and I will always recommend Crystal brand Louisiana-style hot sauce. Or try a drop of my Thai Chili Oil.
In this odd, corrupted simulation that we inhabit, food is one of the last few things we have some semblance of control over. Cook for your family and loved ones, grow your own food, learn to find food out in the wild. It seems like food is just a normal, regular part of life - but good food is a privilege.
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