MUMS CHICKEN CASSEROLE WITH DUMPLINGS
It was my late Mum's birthday a few days ago and it made me reminisce. She taught me to cook when I was a child and I loved to hang out in the kitchen with her, acting as her 'minion' (the term she used, well before the weird little yellow blobs appeared). I always refer to my chicken casserole as my Mum's for some reason. She became a very good cook, after somewhat disastrous beginnings, but I always loved her casseroles. The best thing is, my girl loves my casserole so much that she makes it now too. I think it's lovely that my Mum lives on through her cooking.
Although I learnt this recipe from my Mum, over time, I have changed and tweaked it a bit.
I start mine with a homemade stock. Whenever we roast a chicken, we always pop the carcass, a carrot and onion and a bunch of herbs in a pot and boil it up. It then gets bunged in the the simmering oven of the Aga overnight, or a slow cooker if the Aga's off.
Secondly, you'll need a nice lot of veg. Swede, carrot, potatoes, celery, onions, garlic and fresh herbs, I used thyme and bay leaves. Oh, and don't forget the a big ugly, homegrown parsnip. I had to put it in the picture, unpeeled! I also usually put a leek in, but didn't have one.
First, saute off the onions garlic and finely chopped celery with a pinch of sea salt (this help the onions soften, without burning.
Then put 2 heaped tablespoon of plain four in and stir it in. This will thicken the soup, something my Mum did with Bisto powder.
Add all the veg and herbs, but not the chicken.
Add 2 pints of homemade stock and two chicken stock cubes dissolved in a little hot water. These stocks cubes just boost the flavour a bit.
Then give it a good stir as you don't want any flour sticking to the bottom as you'll be heating on the hob first.
Once it's simmering well, put it in the oven for an hour on 200 degrees. Check that the veggies are cooked, if not, leave it another 15 minutes (because cookers vary).
We always keep some cooked chicken back when we've had a roast, This is when you add it. Stir the chicken in and add your dumplings. For these, I used 100 grams of self raising flour and 50 grams of suet mixed with a good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper. You can add chopped parsley to this or a good pinch of mixed herbs if you fancy, it's all good. Stir in some cold water until you get a firm, but not too stiff dough. I have made it a little sloppy at times, but it still works.
Put dessertspoons of the mix in the casserole, pop the lid on and put it back in the oven for 10 minutes. The dumplings will have plumped up by now and you can spoon some of the gravy over them. Put the casserole back in the oven, without the lid, for another 10 minutes, to crisp the tops.
Serve with crusty bread and cabbage or kale sauteed in butter. Delish!
It was my late Mum's birthday a few days ago and it made me reminisce. She taught me to cook when I was a child and I loved to hang out in the kitchen with her, acting as her 'minion' (the term she used, well before the weird little yellow blobs appeared). I always refer to my chicken casserole as my Mum's for some reason. She became a very good cook, after somewhat disastrous beginnings, but I always loved her casseroles. The best thing is, my girl loves my casserole so much that she makes it now too. I think it's lovely that my Mum lives on through her cooking.
Although I learnt this recipe from my Mum, over time, I have changed and tweaked it a bit.
I start mine with a homemade stock. Whenever we roast a chicken, we always pop the carcass, a carrot and onion and a bunch of herbs in a pot and boil it up. It then gets bunged in the the simmering oven of the Aga overnight, or a slow cooker if the Aga's off.
The stock looks a lovely colour when hot, not quite so appetising when it's put into jars and stored in the fridge! One medium sized chicken produced one and a half jars (60 fluid ounces/3 pints) of stock.
Secondly, you'll need a nice lot of veg. Swede, carrot, potatoes, celery, onions, garlic and fresh herbs, I used thyme and bay leaves. Oh, and don't forget the a big ugly, homegrown parsnip. I had to put it in the picture, unpeeled! I also usually put a leek in, but didn't have one.
First, saute off the onions garlic and finely chopped celery with a pinch of sea salt (this help the onions soften, without burning.
Then put 2 heaped tablespoon of plain four in and stir it in. This will thicken the soup, something my Mum did with Bisto powder.
Add all the veg and herbs, but not the chicken.
Add 2 pints of homemade stock and two chicken stock cubes dissolved in a little hot water. These stocks cubes just boost the flavour a bit.
Then give it a good stir as you don't want any flour sticking to the bottom as you'll be heating on the hob first.
Once it's simmering well, put it in the oven for an hour on 200 degrees. Check that the veggies are cooked, if not, leave it another 15 minutes (because cookers vary).
We always keep some cooked chicken back when we've had a roast, This is when you add it. Stir the chicken in and add your dumplings. For these, I used 100 grams of self raising flour and 50 grams of suet mixed with a good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper. You can add chopped parsley to this or a good pinch of mixed herbs if you fancy, it's all good. Stir in some cold water until you get a firm, but not too stiff dough. I have made it a little sloppy at times, but it still works.
Put dessertspoons of the mix in the casserole, pop the lid on and put it back in the oven for 10 minutes. The dumplings will have plumped up by now and you can spoon some of the gravy over them. Put the casserole back in the oven, without the lid, for another 10 minutes, to crisp the tops.
It is a sad thing that the lighting in my kitchen, plus my phone camera, makes everything look washed out. It really did look better than this. Still hopeful that Father C brings me a shiny new camera this year..... after all, I've been a very good girl!
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