Chicken stew with herb dumplings

Clear out all the leftover herbs in the fridge crisper drawer with this cosy dish. Packed with carrots, celery, turnips and potatoes, this hearty chicken drumstick stew gets an upgrade with the addition of fluffy herbed dumplings, perfect for mopping up the saucy stew.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  1:35 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 kg chicken drumsticks
• Salt and black pepper
• 40 g butter
• 3 carrots, finely chopped
• 3 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 sweet potato, cut into 1 cm chunks
• 1 potato, cut into 1 cm chunks
• 2 turnips, cut into 1 cm chunks
• 2 large brown onions, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1.5 litres chicken stock

For the dumplings

• 100 g butter
• 200 ml water
• 300 g (2 cups) self-raising flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp chicken stock powder
• ½ lemon, finely zested
• 2 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tsp picked thyme leaves
• 1 tbsp finely chopped sage
• 2 eggs

Instructions

1. Heat a large, heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil. Season the chicken well on all sides with salt and black pepper. Brown the chicken pieces in batches, turning occasionally, then remove to a plate.
2. Melt the butter in the pan, then add the carrots, celery, sweet potato, potato, turnip, onions and garlic. Season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and cook, stirring regularly, for 10 minutes, or until very fragrant and softened.
3. Add the flour to the pan and stir to combine. Cook for 3 minutes, then return the chicken to the pan with the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook on very low heat for 30 minutes. Add a splash of water to the pan if needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. To make the dumplings, combine the butter and water in a medium saucepan, then bring to a simmer. Stir in the flour, salt, stock powder, lemon zest and herbs, then the eggs, one at a time, until the mixture forms a soft dough.
5. Remove from the heat, then roll the dough into balls a little smaller than golf-ball sized, then drop into the chicken stew. Cover and simmer for a further 45 minutes, or until the dumplings are tender. Remove from the heat.
6. Serve the chicken stew with the herb dumplings.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.