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Easy-Bake Chicken 'n' Herbed Dumplings

Source of Recipe

From "Southern Casseroles" by Denise Gee


Recipe Introduction

"You can fortify and fancify this adding vegetables like green peas and carrots and whatnot, but to my way of thinking, that takes you more into pot-pie territory. This dish should just basically be creamy-rich chicken and flavorful dumplings. For whatever reason, I never really cottoned to the dish until I met my husband-to-be, who loves it. Each time we'd visit our relatives in Natchez, Mississippi, we'd be treated not only to his mother Edith's version of it, but his Aunt Colleen Groves' take on it, and his childhood home would be chicken 'n' dumplings central. This is my quick-cooking tribute to those fun days."

List of Ingredients

◦  3 Tbsp butter
◦  ½ cup finely chopped onion
◦  ½ cup finely chopped celery
◦  1 clove garlic, minced
◦  ½ cup all-purpose flour
◦  1½ tsp dried fines herbes
◦  One 16-ounce carton chicken broth
◦  Two 10.75-ounce can cream of chicken soup
◦  4 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken
◦  ¼ to ½ teaspoons ground sea or kosher salt
◦  ¼ tsp ground black pepper

Herbed Dumplings:
◦  2 cups self-rising flour or biscuit baking mix
◦  2 tsp dried fines herbes or dried tarragon and/or rosemary
◦  1¼ cups buttermilk, whole milk, half-and-half, or cream
◦  2 Tbsp butter, melted

◦  Garnish: Dried fines herbes, tarragon, rosemary, or parsley


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and sauté the onion, celery and garlic until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the flour and fines herbes and stir until blended.

Slowly add the broth, soup, and then the chicken and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sauce is thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Taste the mixture and add the salt and pepper; adjust the seasoning as desired. Pour the chicken mixture into a greased 13- by 9-inch dish and set aside.

To Make the Dumplings:
In a medium bowl, combine the flour and fines herbes. Slowly add the buttermilk and stir with a fork until moistened, smooth and just combined (don't overwork the dough or it can get tough). Use a small cookie scoop or tablespoon to drop 12 rounded batter portions over the chicken mixture in the casserole dish.

Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes (the dumplings will have a light crust). Remove the casserole and brush the tops of the dumplings with the melted better. Cover loosely and bake 7 to 10 minutes longer, or until a toothpick inserted into a dumpling comes out clean. Broil the dumpling tops to make them more golden, if desired. Garnish with fines herbes before serving.


Serves 6


Notes:

◦  Instead of fines herbes, you can substitute a desired mix of dried rosemary, tarragon, and/or sage or use 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning.

◦  Consider using reduced-sodium broth and/or cream of chicken soup, which lets you control the salt content to your liking (especially since prepared rotisserie chicken can be saltier than home-cooked chicken). Salt should be added only after tasting the creamy chicken mixture.

◦  Double the amount of dumplings if you know people will want extras. Just use another casserole dish with an extra can of cream of chicken soup poured in. Drop the second portion of dumplings there and cook, using the same directions, but just check on your dumplings-only dish about 10 minutes sooner; they can cook faster.

◦  This can be made up to 24 hours before cooking (just don't add the dumplings until it's ready to go in the oven). Cooked and tightly covered, the casserole will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months (provided you freeze the dumplings separately). To reheat, cook the casserole filling in the oven and when it begins to bubble, add the frozen dumplings, cover with tented aluminum foil, and allow them to thoroughly reheat.