Last night I made chicken and dumplings. This was a favorite recipe of mine when I was a kid, probably because it was a specialty of my grandmother and my father, whom I loved very much. It also tasted completely different from everything else we ate in Argentina. I based the recipe below on my father's recipe, which didn't have precise measures. I also looked at this recipe at Allrecipes.com to give me some guidance. The dish came out great, I loved it and I will certainly make it again. Note that with these measures, the dumplings are not very sturdy, they broke up very easily. I liked this, as they helped make the sauce much denser, though if you prefer firmer dumplings you may want to use another dumpling recipe (like this one). You can vary the spices in the broth and add whatever you like, you can also use fresh parsley, I used dried 'cause that's what I had at hand.
It took me about 2 hours from beginning to end, including at least an hour of simmering time. Michaela, my little girl, liked the chicken very much, both last night for dinner and today for lunch. Reheat it by adding some water.
Chicken and Dumplings
For the chicken
-1 tbsp oil
-1 large onion, chopped
-1 large chicken, cut up into pieces
-3 stalks celery, chopped
-4 cups water (about)
-1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
-1 tbsp. oregano
-1 tbsp. dried parsley
-1 tsp. garlic powder
-1/2 tsp. paprika
-1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
For the dumplings
-1 1/2 cups flour
-1 tsp salt
-2 tsp baking powder
-3 tbsp butter
-3/4 cup milk
Instructions
In a large pot, heat the oil. Add the chopped onion and fry until golden. Add the chicken parts and brown on all sides. Add the celery. Add enough water to cover the chicken. Add the herbs and spices, mix, turn down the heat and simmer uncovered until the chicken starts falling apart from the bones, about an hour.
Meanwhile prepare the dumplings. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together. Add the butter and blend together using a fork. Put the mixture into the fridge until the chicken is almost ready. Remove and slowly add the milk, blending with a fork.
Add the dumplings to the simmering liquid by spoonfull. Let them cook for about 5 minutes and then flip. Let them cook for at least two more minutes. When you put them in the water and/or flip them parts of the dumplings will fall off and mix in with the broth making a gravy. Stir to make sure this happens. If it doesn't, add some extra flour and stir until the gravy is the consistency you like.