Ami’s Forest Chicken & Mushrooms with Dumplings

Ingredients

• 8-quart/8L soup pot and lid

• 3-5 lbs/1.3-2.2kg  of chicken cut into 1.5”/4cm  pieces

• Equal parts flour to chicken fat

• 2quarts/2L broth of choice (I used equal parts chicken & mushroom broth)

• 2 large carrots, diced

• 1 head of celery, diced

• 1 large yellow onion, diced

• 8oz/227g Sliced cremini mushrooms

• 1 ½ cups/180g all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• 3 tablespoons semi-firm butter

• ¾ cup/177 ml  milk

• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary

• ½ lemon’s worth of zest

Preparation

1. Cook the chicken, in batches, in the pot over medium heat until no longer pink. Remove with a slotted spoon into a bowl and set aside.
   

2. Add equal parts of flour to the chicken fat in the pot. Lower the heat to medium. Continue stirring until there are no lumps and the roux turns a deeper brown.
   

3. In the same pot, add onion, carrots & celery. Cook over medium-high heat until the vegetables begin to soften.
   

4. Wipe down the sliced mushrooms with a damp cloth before adding them to the pot. Add the stock and chicken. Bring to a boil, then drop the heat to low and let the pot simmer.
   

5. While the pot is simmering, prepare the dumplings. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Crumble the butter into the flour. Mix together to create a crumbly dough, then slowly add the milk to moisten. Add rosemary and lemon zest. Do not overmix. Overmixed dumpling dough has a tough, dense, and elastic texture rather than a light, tender one.
   

6. Using an ice cream scoop, drop dollops of dough onto the top of the stew so they are poking out just above the surface. Cover with the lid and let simmer for 20 minutes.
   

7. You can serve immediately or the next day. Letting it rest will allow the flavours to mingle and set up.

Ready in 90 minutes

Serves 10-14 people

Tips

Add corn and potatoes for a more potpie-style.