Herbal Chicken & Dumplings

Soup Base:

1 Chicken, cooked and shredded.
(Use your leftover roasted chicken or boil a whole/pieces of chicken then shred.)

6 cups Chicken Broth
*1/2 to 1 cup of Heavy Cream or Milk (use what you have)
2 tablespoon Butter
2 Carrots, sliced or diced
1 Celery Stalk, sliced or diced
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 teaspoon Oregano or Marjoram
1/2 teaspoon Rosemary
1/2 teaspoon Thyme
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
1 to 2 Bay Leaves
Salt/Pepper, to taste
 Parsley, for serving

Thickening:

2 tablespoons Cornstarch
1/4 cup Cold Water
 

Dumplings:

1 1/2 cups AP/Plain Flour, plus more as needed
1  tablespoon Baking Powder
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
2/3 cup Buttermilk or Milk



Prepare the Dumplings:

Mix together flour, salt and baking powder. Pour in milk and mix. Turn out onto a well floured surface and sprinkle more flour on top of the dough. Roll or press out the dough very thin. Cut into 1/2 inch squares or 1 inch squares (depending on how large you want your dumplings). Let the dumplings sit and dry while making your soup base.


For the Soup Base:

In a large pot, add your chicken broth, milk/cream shredded chicken. Bring this to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer. Add in your butter, carrots, celery and garlic. Bruise your herbs a bit in your mortar and add to the pot, stir and taste for seasoning - adjust to your tastes. Let simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

*If you are using heavy cream you may want to skip the thickening in the next step. If you want your base thicker then proceed to the next step. If you are using milk then proceed to the next step.

Thicken the soup base by mixing the cold water and cornstarch together then stream a very small thread of it into the base - constantly stirring. Stop poring in the thicker when the base is as thick as you like it. If you get it too thick add more chicken broth or water.


Taste and adjust for seasonings again. If you want a heavier chicken flavor to the soup base, stir in 1 or 2 tablespoons of chicken soup base (like Better than Bullion).


Add the Dumplings:

Add the dumplings by dropping a few in the pot at a time don't stir until the dumplings have cooked at least 30 seconds then barely stir or push them down into the hot liquid with your spoon. Drop in a few more dumplings and repeat the process until you've added all the dumplings.

Let the dumplings cook 5 to 10 minutes on a low simmer then remove from heat.

Serve in bowls and sprinkle some parsley on top. Refrigerate leftovers.