Savory Chicken and Veggies with Dumplings

By amity

Ingredients

• Step One:
• Soak Dumplings
• 1 ¼ cup whole spelt flour
• 1 cup kamut flour
• 1 cup plain Kefir (or buttermilk)
• 5 tbsp butter, melted
• Finish Dumplings
• 1 tbsp Kefir
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp dried parsley
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 3 tbsp butter, plus 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups carrots, chopped (about 5-6 small carrots)
• 2 cups potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces (about 3 medium potatoes)
• 1 ½ cups celery, chopped (about 3-4 stalks)
• 1 cup yellow onion, chopped (about ½ large onion)
• 1 cup fresh green beans, ends trimmed and cut in half
• 2 ½ cups chicken stock (homemade is best)
• 1 ½ tsp fresh sage, finely chopped
• 1 ½ tsp fresh thyme (leaves only)
• 1 tbsp coarse sea salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups precooked, shredded chicken (or turkey)
• 1 cup almond milk

Preparation

Step 1

Step One:
Soak Dumplings
1 ¼ cup whole spelt flour
1 cup kamut flour
1 cup plain Kefir (or buttermilk)
5 tbsp butter, melted

Add flours to a large ceramic (or glass) mixing bowl. Using a fork, blend in Kefir and melted butter. Use your hands to completely combine the ingredients and form a dough ball. (Will resemble pizza dough.) Cover the bowl and place it in a warm area of your kitchen for 24 hours.

Step Two:
Finish Dumplings
1 tbsp Kefir
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp dried parsley
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder

After soaking time is complete, add remaining ingredients. Using your hands, knead the ingredients into the dough. Dough will be very thick and sticky (like pizza dough) and it will take a couple minutes of kneading to combine. Once combined, set dough aside to rise a bit while you prepare the casserole.

Step Three:
Prepare the Chicken (or Turkey) Casserole
3 tbsp butter, plus 2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups carrots, chopped (about 5-6 small carrots)
2 cups potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces (about 3 medium potatoes)
1 ½ cups celery, chopped (about 3-4 stalks)
1 cup yellow onion, chopped (about ½ large onion)
1 cup fresh green beans, ends trimmed and cut in half
2 ½ cups chicken stock (homemade is best)
1 ½ tsp fresh sage, finely chopped
1 ½ tsp fresh thyme (leaves only)
1 tbsp coarse sea salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 cups precooked, shredded chicken (or turkey)
1 cup almond milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Oil a 9”x13” baking dish with olive oil and set aside. Heat a very large sauté pan (or wok) over medium-high heat. Add butter and olive oil to the pan, along with the carrots, potatoes, celery, onion and green beans. Sauté veggies for about three to four minutes, until onion just starts to soften. Then add chicken stock and seasonings. Cover and simmer for about five to six minutes, until veggies just begin to soften. (Do not simmer too long or your veggies will become mushy during the baking process.) Turn off heat once simmering is completed.

For a rich and creamy sauce, add the almond milk and two latel-fulls of the simmered veggies to your blender or VitaMix. Blend until completely puréed and return the purée back to the pan with the veggie mixture and combine.

Next, add the precooked, shredded chicken (or turkey) and combine well. Pour mixture into oiled 9x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle top with a light dash of dried sage, dried thyme and garlic powder. Scoop dumpling dough by rounded tablespoons and place evenly across the top of the casserole. (Keep dumplings small so they cook evenly. As a point of reference, the dough yields about 24 small dumplings.)

Bake for 15-18 minutes until dumplings are lightly browned and casserole is bubbly. Allow to cool five minutes before serving. Serves 6-8. Enjoy!