Michael Symons Chicken And Dumpling Soup Recipes

CAST-IRON CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Prepare a grill for indirect heat. If using a charcoal grill, build the hot coals on one side only. If using a gas grill, heat one side only to medium-high heat.
• For the chicken and vegetable base: Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over direct heat. Melt the butter. Add the carrots, onions and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, coating the vegetables, and continue to cook for another minute. Whisk in the chicken stock, smoothing out any flour lumps. Simmer until the mixture begins to thicken, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the dumplings: Melt the butter with the jalapeno if using and lime juice in a sauce pot over indirect heat, then let cool.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, celery seeds, salt and lime zest in a large bowl. Mix in the cheese.
• Slowly pour the melted butter mixture into the cold cream in a small bowl and mix together using a fork. (The butter will bead up as you mix.) Pour the butter-cream mixture into the flour mixture and bring together into a soft dough. Set aside.
• Finish the chicken and vegetable base: Add the chicken, peas and parsley to the skillet with the vegetables. Move the skillet over indirect heat and scoop the biscuit mixture on top, covering the surface of the pan. Cover the grill and cook until the biscuits are golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes.
• (Alternatively, you can make the sauce and melt the butter mixture on a stovetop, then bake the biscuits in a 375 degrees F oven for 15 to 20 minutes.)

CHICKEN AND DUMPLING SOUP

Steps:

• For the soup stock: Combine the chicken, peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic, thyme, carrot chunks, celery chunks, quartered onion, parsnip chunks, 3 sprigs dill and 3 sprigs parsley in a large pot. Add cold water to cover by 2 inches (about 5 quarts). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is very tender, for at least 1 1/2 hours (or up to 2 hours if you have the time. The longer the better!) Add more water, as needed, skimming off scum (there won't be much) and, if desired, some fat.
• Carefully strain the stock, discarding everything except for the chicken. (You should have 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 quarts of stock.) Set the chicken aside to cool briefly while you put together the rest of the soup. Return the strained stock to the pot and bring it to a simmer. Add the sliced carrot, sliced celery, chopped onion, sliced parsnip, chopped dill, chopped parsley and the salt. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the dumplings: In a small saucepan, bring the butter and 3/4 cup water to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour. Let cool for a few minutes so it's not so hot that it will cook the eggs, then whisk in the salt, sugar, nutmeg and the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated into a slightly lumpy thick batter. (It'll take a little work to whisk in the eggs.)
• Drop heaping teaspoons of the dumpling mixture into the simmering soup, then cover and cook until the vegetables are tender and the dumplings are cooked through; begin checking for doneness at 15 minutes.
• Pull the chicken meat off the bones and chop into bite-sized pieces. Season it with salt, then add it to the soup along with the ground black pepper. Taste and add more salt as needed. This is important: The amount of salt in a chicken soup can mean the difference between unappetizing chicken tea and the elixir of bubble love that it should be. So don't skip this step, and don't rush it, either. Taste your soup, and if it doesn't make you smile reflexively, add more salt, about a 1/2 teaspoon of it, and give it a few good stirs so it can dissolve. Taste and repeat, as needed, until it tastes good.
• Serve, garnishing with fresh parsley.

MICHAEL SYMON'S CHICKEN-AND-DUMPLING SOUP

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a 6-quart pot over medium heat.
• Add the garlic, carrots, celery root, turnip, rutabaga, onion, diced fennel, and a large pinch of salt; cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add the white wine, 6 cups water, fennel seeds, thyme and bay leaves; bring to a simmer. Add the chicken and simmer for 2 hours. Remove the chicken and let cool. Pick off the meat in shreds; set aside in bowl.
• About 15 minutes before the chicken has finished simmering, prepare the dumplings: Combine the milk, chicken fat, 1 tablespoon tarragon, the nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat; add the flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the liquid is absorbed. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, to make a thick dough.
• Bring the soup to a boil. Form the dough into eight dumplings (a big spoon or ice cream scoop); drop into the soup. Cover and cook and until the dumplings float to the top of the surface, about 10 minutes.
• Add the chicken meat, parsley and the remaining 1 tablespoon tarragon to the soup; stir carefully and divide among warm bowls.