A Word From The Other Parsimonious Chef...: 5th October - Comfort Food Revisited in Autumn

Chicken & Dumplings

The weather has officially changed and while it's not exactly winter outside calling this "Indian summer" may not accurately depict what's going on with the change in what I will be cooking from this point forward. Knowing that autumn is really only a few weeks old I know that we have quite a bit of time left to plan for some fitting recipes and ideas.

Washington, DC is a beautiful place around this time of year, especially if you hit the biking trails. There are a vast array of parks in which to ride and the change of the foliage is absolutely breathtaking, so much so that I have taken to leaving my camera behind simply because I was stopping every 3 minutes in order to capture the moment in picture form. No worries though, I am now taking 2 rides a week just to take pictures and post them for you to see.....

On the menu today: Chicken & Dumplings with a Twist.

Chicken & Roasted Fennel Infused Dumplings w/ Crisp Chicken Skin

When I am finished with a bike ride and I'm cold and tired there's nothing better than being comforted with a warm drink and perhaps a great soup or stew. It just seems to coat the bones kind of like an electric blanket that's been turned up to high for 20 minutes before you wrap it around yourself, snug as a bug!

Chicken & Dumplings is a dish that brings a warm smile as soon as I think about it, let alone make it. For this I have decided to give the dish a bit of a makeover with flavors that I find both appealing and comforting. Fennel is a soul soother for me and even more so when it is roasted or caramelized. So rather than making "normal" dumplings, I have decided to add roasted fennel to the dumpling for an extra layer of flavor. I have also taken the liberty of using the chicken skin by crisping and using for texture and presentation.

When I make this dish I make it in layers to allow for a crescendo of flavors on the pallet so, I bake the chicken separately, allow it to cool, peel off the skin, pull the chicken in natural chunks or tears and finally crisp-en the skin for texture and/or presentation. I also roast the fennel, blend it into the dough for the dumplings and then boil them in chicken stock. I make my stock from the bones of the chicken once it has been roasted earlier. I finally sauté my carrots, onions, celery and fennel stalk in butter and then make my roux in this pan before adding the chicken stock to make the gravy for the dish and adding everything back to the pot and allowing it cook for an hour on medium to low. I normally make this dish a day earlier and refrigerate it for a day to let the flavors meld together. No worries I have some short cuts for you and it will be just as good.

Roasted Chicken

For the Roasted Chicken you will need :

Whole Chicken (1 Whole)
Garlic (8 cloves)
Thyme (1 bunch)
Oregano (1/4 bunch)
Olive Oil (1 Tbs)
Salt & Pepper (1 Tbs)

Remove the neck, giblets and liver from the cavity of the chicken. Stuff 6 cloves and the most of the herbs into the cavity of the chicken. Dice the remainder of the garlic, thyme and oregano then add it to the olive oil and rub it on the outside of the chicken. Place it in an oven preheated to 375 for 2 hours and 15 minutes or until done. Allow the chicken to cool and then peel off the skin to set aside for later use. Tear the skin off in chunks and set aside for later use. Reserve your bones in a freezer bag to make stock one day if you choose (not for this dish).

Dumpling Disc (left side)

To make the dumplings we will need:

Fennel (1 bulb)
Olive Oil (2 Tbs)
Oregano (1 stalk)
Flour (1.5 cups)
Salt (2 tsp)
Chicken Stock (2 box)
Eggs (2 each)

Take the fennel and julienne the bulb, mince the oregano and add the olive oil to this liberally. Roast on 350 for 20 minutes or until the fennel starts to caramelize or turn slightly brown. Place in a blender to for a loose paste. Add the flour and salt to a bowl and then fold the fennel mixture into the flour then add the eggs to the mixture to form a dough. I normally mix with my hands and you may need to add a bit more flour at this point to form a stiff dough. now free form the dumplings with your hands to make 20 or more portions depending on the size you choose to make and place in a refrigerator for 1 hour before placing in a pot of boiling chicken stock to cook for 10 minutes stirring the pot so that the dumplings don't stick to the pot. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a cutting board to cool and ultimately cut into disc. Reserve the chicken stock to make the gravy.

Gravy with the works

To make the gravy we will need :

Chicken Stock (reserved from dumplings)
Flour (1-2 cups)
Butter (1 Stick)
Garlic (1 Tbs)

Place a stick of butter in a skillet to heat up, add the flour and stir to form a thick paste. (type roux in the search box of the blog to see a video if needed) Bring the chicken stock to a boil along with the giblets, garlic, roasted chicken neck and liver and then add the roux a bit at a time until you reach your desired thickness. Allow to cook on warm until your veggies are cooked next.

To cook the veggies we will need:

Large Carrots (4 ea)
Celery (5 Stalks)
Onion (1 - 2 ea)
Fennel Stalk (3 ea)

Cut all veggies on the bias so that they are long and dramatic. The carrots will need to be cut in half as well as on the bias. Simply saute the veggies in olive oil and butter until browned adding the onions first and removing and repeating these steps for every other veggie. One Note - The celery will not caramelize or turn brown as celery is 95% water. So just allow it to wilt a bit but keep a bit of crunch.

Add all of the veggies to a pot along with the chicken, dumpling discs and then add the gravy and allow to cook on low for 20 to 30 minutes. As always stews are always great on the first day but much more complex when they are melding in a refrigerator overnight. Yummy to my Tummy!!!!!!

Crispy Chicken Skin Plank

To crispin the chicken skin you will need olive oil, a heated skillet and small skillet to weigh the skin down while it cooks. Place the skin in a heated skillet with the olive oil and place a smaller skillet on top of it, cook for 3 minutes and then flip and repeat. Take out and allow to dry out on a paper towel.