This dish is true comfort food. It's easy, economical, and reasonably quick to put together in the evening. The recipe has two main parts--the sourdough dumplings and the stew. The dumplings you can start in advance, if you'd like, but it's not really necessary. The stew requires some vegetable chopping, and you can do that ahead. I use pre-cooked chicken (sometimes turkey), which speeds up the stew-making process considerably. Often, I use the remains of a Costco rotisserie chicken, which make the stew especially easy and economical. The stew is savory, creamy, full of vegetables, the perfect place to put fat, fluffy sourdough dumplings. I use baking powder in the dumplings, which means that you don't have to let them rise (but you can, and I sometimes do for extra fluff--more like yeast bread--and sourdough taste). Serve the stew and dumplings in big bowls or plates with a salad alongside for a simple, filling, good, and comforting supper. Enjoy!
Sourdough Dumplings With Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Stew -- Serves 4+
Dumplings
1 cup sourdough starter/discard
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1/4 cup of milk
1 large egg
3/4 cup of white whole-wheat flour (or use all-purpose flour)
In a large bowl mix all the ingredients above together well. You can let the mixture sit for an hour or so (up to five is fine, if your kitchen is cool) or immediately add:
1/2 cup of white whole-wheat flour (or all purpose flour)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder (use an extra 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder if you aren't
letting the mixture sit and/or your starter isn't very active)
Mix all of the ingredients together well and form golfball-sized dumplings. Drop the dumplings on the bubbling stew, arranging the dumplings around the edges of the pan and in the middle of the stew (not on top of each other). Spray the underside of the cover of you pan with non-stick cooking spray and place it on top of the dumpling-topped stew. Let the dumplings cook on top of the gently simmering stew for 15-20 minutes or until firm to the touch and a pick inserted in the center of a dumpling comes out with no wet batter attached. Sprinkle the tops of the dumplings with a little parsley if you'd like before serving the stew and dumplings.
Stew
2-3 teaspoons of canola oil
1/2 a medium onion, chopped (1/2-2/3 cup)
1-2 stalks of celery, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
8 ounces of sliced mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon of salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
2 cups of chicken broth (you can use 2 cups of water and 2 teaspoons of reduced
sodium chicken base, if you'd prefer)
1 teaspoon of dried parsley
3-4 cups of chopped, cooked chicken
3/4 cup of milk mixed well with 1/4 cup of flour
1-2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh chopped parsley, optional
Heat the oil in a large chef's pan or deep skillet (or use a Dutch oven) over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, mushrooms, salt, and pepper and saute the mixture until the vegetables soften (8-10 minutes). Add the chicken broth, dried parsley, and chicken to the mixture and stir it well. Let the mixture cook for a few minutes and then add the milk/flour mixture and the Parmesan cheese. Stir a few minutes until the stew thickens a bit (it won't thicken completely and will get more starch from the dumplings). Taste the mixture and add a little more salt if you really think it's necessary. Drop the dumplings on the stew, cover the pan (spraying the underside of the lid first), and let the stew and dumplings cook on medium-low for 15-20 minutes until the dumplings are done). Sprinkle the parsley over the tops of the dumplings, if you'd like.
