SOUTHWESTERN CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS

By BobD

Ingredients

• Chicken
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 chicken, cut up into breasts, wings, thighs and drumsticks (about 4
• pounds chicken pieces), carcass reserved for making stock
• 2 Anaheim chiles, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 1/2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
• 1/4 cup half-and-half
• Dumplings
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup fine cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 2 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons minced chives, plus more for garnish

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

In a large pot, heat the vegetable oil. Add the chicken pieces, skin side down, and cook over medium-high heat, without turning, until brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Turn the chicken over and brown the other side, about 3 minutes.

Transfer to a plate; remove and discard the skin.

• If you don’t want to butcher a whole bird, substitute 4 pounds of
chicken thighs.

Add the chiles and onion to the pot and cook until the vegetables have begun to soften, about 8 minutes.

Add the cumin and flour and stir to coat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the flour smells slightly nutty, about 2 minutes.

Whisk in the chicken broth and half-and-half and bring to a boil. Return the reserved chicken to the pot, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes.

When the chicken has finished cooking, transfer it to a large cutting board, remove and discard the bones and tear the meat
into large pieces.

Add the chicken to the broth mixture, cover
and keep warm over low heat.

Make the dumplings:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, milk, cheddar and chives and stir to blend.

Increase the heat under the chicken stew to medium-heat and bring it to a simmer. Drop the dumpling batter in heaping tablespoons about ½ inch apart over the surface of the stew (you’ll make about 15 dumplings), cover and reduce the heat to low.

Cook until the dumplings have puffed up, about 15 to 20
minutes.

Serve immediately.

• Tweak this dish into a different winter warmer by omitting the dumplings and spooning the chicken stew over cheddar-rice biscuits.