Gina: Ladies! The things we go through to please our men! You should be fully aware that Aunt Faye is Pat’s favorite aunt, so you know I had to get this recipe down right. Pat: My dear and favorite aunt, Faye, is my late father’s oldest sister. She lives in Chicago, and for a while, when we were children, we lived there, too. During those years, Aunt Faye would cook us chicken and dumplings. Needless to say, it became one of my favorite dishes (and the fact that my favorite aunt was preparing it made it all the better!).
Recipe information
Yield
serves 6
Ingredients
Chicken
Stew
Scallion Dumplings
Preparation
Step 1
To make the chicken, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. When the oil is very hot, add the chicken, and cook, turning once, until it is well browned on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Pour off the excess oil, and add the stock, the onion pierced with the two cloves (so that two quarters have one clove each), and the thyme sprigs, if desired. Add enough water just to cover the chicken, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer, covered, until the meat is tender and coming away from the bone, 40 to 50 minutes. (Alternatively, this can be cooked, covered, in a 250°F oven.)
Step 2
Remove from the heat, allow the chicken to cool, and drain, reserving liquid (you should have 3 to 4 cups). When the chicken is cool enough to handle, pick the meat off the bones and set aside; discard the bones.
Step 3
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Step 4
To make the stew, in a heavy ovenproof pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and celery, and sauté until leeks are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, and sage, and sauté for another minute. Sprinkle in the flour, and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes, until the vegetables are well coated. Whisk in the half and half and 1 cup of the stock and bring to a boil. Whisk in the remaining 3 cups of stock (if you have less, make up the difference with water), then add the turnips and carrots. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to low, then add the chicken meat and a pinch of salt, and simmer gently, stirring from time to time, for about 15 minutes, until the carrots and turnips are tender. Taste for seasonings, and add more salt and freshly ground black pepper as desired. Stir in the peas. Mix up the dumpling dough and drop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the surface of the stew. Place, uncovered, in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the surface of the dumplings is dry to the touch and golden brown.
Scallion Dumplings
Step 5
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, cayenne, and a generous grinding of black pepper. In another bowl, use a fork to stir together the egg, milk, butter, and scallions. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients to make a stiff batter; season with a generous grinding of black pepper.
