Chicken Vegetable Stew with drop Cornmeal Dumplings

I didn’t eat this recipe growing up, not being a Southern boy. However, I’ve tried and tweaked a few other recipes to come up with my preferred ingredients. For a stovetop recipe, I find the cornmeal dumplings are preferable in taste and texture to flour.
This recipe is not difficult to prepare but it does take time – it is best to prepare the stock ahead.

INGREDIENTS

Stew finishing vegetables

• 1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 6 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
• 3 stalks celery, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
• 6 summer squash (zucchini or mexican) peeled and diced into 3/4 inch cubes

Dumpling ingredients

• 3/4 cup corn meal
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 egg, whisked (optional)
• Milk, as required

Stock ingredients

• 2 stalks celery
  
• 3 Tbsp parsley, fresh
• 1 yellow onion, cut into quarters
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 tsp thyme, dried
• 1 whole chicken, cut at joints and breast/ribs split or 2 lb chicken thighs and breasts, bone-in
• 1/2 tsp table salt

PREPARATION

- To prepare the stock, first remove the skin from the chicken parts.

- In a large pot cover the chicken, salt, onion, carrots and thyme with water and bring to a simmer. Cook 15 minutes or until the breasts are just done, then remove. Cook 15 more minutes or until the dark meat parts are just done, then remove.

- Let cool, separate the meat from the bones, then add the bones Back to the stock. Simmer for one hour, cool the stock, strain off the bones/veggies and discard. If you chill the stock overnight in the fridge, you can remove any ‘excess’ fat. Shred the chicken into bite size (1 inch) pieces.

- Prepare the dumplings by mixing the dry ingredients in a bowl, then adding the egg and oil until incorporated. Add just enough milk to make the dough pliable but not too soft. Form into 1 inch balls and chill in the refridgerator.

- Bring the stock to the simmer, add the onion, celery and carrots and cook for ten minutes until barely tender. Check for seasoning and ‘body’ – you may want to thicken the stew with a little cornmeal and flour slurry. Add the squash, shredded chicken and bring the stew back to a barely bubbling simmer. Float the dumplings on top, cover and cook for about 10 minutes.