Tender pieces of chicken and soft, chewy homemade dumpling noodles in a savory broth swimming with carrots, celery and onion. Old-fashioned comfort food lives on.
I veer off from the classic recipes and use a few shortcuts to make things go a little quicker and easier. Rather than using a whole chicken to make homemade stock I use my favorite protein – boneless chicken breasts and canned broth. I also add veggies for flavor and substance.
The one shortcut I don’t take is with the noodles. It may sound intimidating to make your own but if you can roll out dough you can make your own noodles. Flour, baking powder, salt, egg and milk comes together to make a sticky dough that is rolled out thin and cut into strips. You don’t even have to cut them straight or make them all uniform for great results.
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The noodles, the noodles, the noodles. I could eat them all day long until the cows come home. Superstars. They soak up the tasty broth as they cook making them super flavorful and all around satisfying. The wonderful thing about them is you can make them as thin or as fat as you like, short or longer, keeping in mind they will plump up when cooked.
This, my friends, is the ultimate cold-weather comfort food. Get it in your belly. Fast.
Old-Fashioned Chicken & Dumpling Noodles
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 pound boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- sea or kosher salt and fresh black pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup diced celery
- ½ cup diced carrot or thinly sliced
- ½ cup diced onion
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 cans low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
- Dumplings:
- 1 + ½ cups all-purpose flour plus more if needed and for the work surface
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- ½ cup milk
Instructions
- Heat one tablespoon oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and cook the chicken in 2 batches, turning to brown on all sides. Remove to a plate and cover with foil.
- Add the remaining tablespoon oil, butter, celery, carrot, onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and a couple dashes each of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often about 10 minutes or until softened.
- Stir in the broth and add the chicken back in with about ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a simmer and maintain while you make the dumplings.
- In a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add the vegetable oil and work it into the flour with a fork until crumbly.
- Make a well in the center and add the egg and milk. Stir together with a spoon. If the mixture seems too loose add another tablespoon or two of flour.
- On a floured work surface roll half the dough out at a time with a floured rolling pin to about â…›-inch thick.
- Use a pastry wheel or pizza cutter to cut pieces ½-inch wide and 2 to 3 inches long.
- Drop them into the simmering soup a few pieces at a time, gently mixing every so often.
- Repeat with the remaining half of dough.
- Place a lid on the pan and simmer 20 - 25 minutes, stirring every so often.
- Before serving taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Remove the bay leaf and discard.
- Stir in the fresh parsley and ladle into bowls. Garnish with grated Parmesan.