White Wine Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and dumplings is a staple dish in any southern kitchen. My grandma used to make huge pots of it, and I've made them myself for many years. This recipe is a more modernized version of that classic favorite, as it contains garlic, bay, and white wine. Don't worry, the heat cooks out any alcohol, leaving behind only flavor.

Just like my grandma, I myself use a huge cast iron pot to cook these in. If you don't have one, that's ok! Just use a regular stockpot.

What you need:

Soup:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 whole chicken (about 3 pounds), cut up into quarters
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
2 teaspoons sugar
2 bay leaves
5 whole peppercorns

Dumplings:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Added to the pot right before serving:
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste

How to make it:
1. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together 1/2 cup of flour, salt and pepper. Add in the chicken, and toss to coat. In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Brown each piece of chicken in the oil, then remove from the pan and let drain on paper towels.

2. In the same stockpot, add the celery, onion, and carrots. Cook for roughly 8 minutes, or until the onion is tender. Add in the garlic, and cook for 1 minute. With a fork or metal whisk, quickly stir in 1/4 cup of flour. Slowly pour in the stock, stirring constantly.

3. Stir in the peppercorns, sugar, bay leaves, and wine. Add in the chicken, and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat down to medium-low, making sure to keep the soup at a simmer. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the chicken's juices run clear.

4. While the soup is cooking, let's make the dumplings. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk togetehr all of the dry dumpling ingredients. In a separate bowl, stir the melted butter and milk together. Pour this into the flour mixture, stirring until just combined. DO NOT over mix, or your dumplings will be tough.

5. Scoop out rounded tablespoon lumps of the dough, form into balls, and place on parchment paper. Set these to the side.

6. Remove the chicken from the pot, and let cool just a bit. Remove the bay leaves as well.

7. Skim off the foamy fat floating on top of the soup, and discard.

8. Remove the skin from the chicken, and take it off the bone. Shred it with a fork into coarse shreds, and return it to the pot.

9. Bring the soup back to a simmer, and slowly ad din the dumplings. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a dumpling comes out clean.

10. Gently stir in the thyme, parsley, and heavy cream. Add in any extra salt and pepper you like, then serve.