Chicken stew with parsley dumplings

The weather in Calgary is cloudy again today, and cold. At this late date in April, I think we may just as well skip spring altogether and head from winter right into summer. The only good thing about the unseasonably cool temperatures, as far as I’m concerned, is that I can continue to cook comfort food. Admittedly, I’m beginning to tire of meals centred around onions and root vegetables but since it doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing too many local veggies in markets any time soon, I’ll have to content myself with soups and stews until our salad days arrive once again.

One of my favourite in-between season comfort foods is chicken stew with dumplings. It’s not quite as heavy as beef stew but still hearty enough to fight off the chills a cold, wet spring evening can bring. The aroma of chicken and dumplings bubbling gently on the stove takes me right back to my grandmother’s kitchen. (My grandma just turned 95, by the way, and she's a super senior still cooking chicken stew and going stong! I like to think it's all about the comfort food she eats!)

Dumplings are also one of those throw-back-to-another-era-supposedly-bad-for-you treats you don’t make every day. (but please see reference to grandma, above, for proof they can't be all that bad for you!). After such a long winter here in western Canada, we deserve a bit of pampering, especially at mealtime. So, bring on the Dutch oven, I say, and make the best of the lingering low temperatures.

Chicken Stew with Parsley Dumplings

For the stew:
3-4 chicken breasts
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 celery stalks, sliced thickly
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
2 bay leaves
2-3 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
½ tsp each salt and pepper
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup frozen peas
3 Tbsp flour
¼ - ½ cup heavy cream

For the dumplings:
Cheat and use Bisquick mix. Follow the directions on the package for preparing the dumpling mixture and add 2 Tbsp of chopped fresh parsley at the end of the process.

Preparation:

Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks. In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat, cook celery, carrots, onion and garlic until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir regularly to prevent garlic from burning. Add chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper to the Dutch oven. Add ½ cup of water (you’ll have to eyeball this). Bring to a boil. Add chicken, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add potatoes, re-cover and simmer 5 to 10 more minutes. Mix flour with 1/3 cup water and whisk into stew. Add cream (optional). Leave the stew on simmer.

Prepare the dumpling mixture and then, using a large spoon, drop the dumpling batter by spoonfuls into the simmering stew (you should get 5 -6 dumplings). Cover the stew and cook according to Bisquick directions, or until dumplings are plump. Resist the urge to keep lifting the lid of the Dutch oven at least for the first 10 minutes the dumplings are cooking! Serve immediately, and remember to discard the bay leaves.