Recipe: Chicken Fricassee with Cheese-Herb Dumplings

Chicken Fricassee with Cheese-Herb Dumplings
rec.food.recipes/Lynn Z. Schaeffer/1998
Servings: 6

This chicken fricassee is one of the best I've ever tasted.

5 pounds chicken, cut up
ground nutmeg
white pepper
paprika
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup dry white wine
2 large shallots -- cut in slivers
1 medium onion -- finely chopped
3 leeks -- cut in 1/2-inch pieces
4 carrots -- cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup celery -- cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon chervil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp. paprika

CHEESE HERB DUMPLINGS*
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon chervil
1/3 cup cheddar cheese -- grated
1 egg -- beaten
3 tablespoons butter -- melted
2/3 cup milk

Sprinkle chicken on both sides with nutmeg, pepper, and paprika.

Heat oil in heavy pot and brown chicken in batches. Set aside.

Reduce heat and add flour, scraping up browned bits with spoon. Cook the roux until it colors to a light brown, mashing lumps. Be careful not to burn.

Whisk in 3 cups water and the wine and return chicken to pot. Simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour, covered.

In Dutch oven, saute vegetables in butter until softened.

Strain chicken stock through a colander, add to vegetables, and continue simmering. Skim fat as it rises. Stir in seasonings.

Meanwhile, cool chicken in a colander over a bowl. Remove meat from bones and add to Dutch oven, along with any drippings.

Prepare the dumplings:

Stir flour, salt, baking powder and chervil together. Stir in cheese.

Mix egg, butter and milk together and stir into flour mixture to make a moist, stiff batter.

Using 2 teaspoons, drop dumplings over bubbling stew.

Cover and cook for 15 minutes, keeping stew at a slow boil.

Uncover and cook 5 minutes longer.

Notes: The creamy richness of this traditional chicken stew comes from the roux, which is cooked slowly to a golden brown. Top the stew with Cheese-Herb Dumplings.

*These fluffy dumplings with crusty tops are excellent with chicken stew and may be adapted for beef stew by substituting rosemary and thyme for chervil and omitting the cheese.