Easy Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients

• 60g Butter, 20g for the pot, 40g cold and cubed for the dumplings
• 1 Onion, diced
• 2 Carrots, sliced
• 2 sticks Celery, sliced
• 600g Boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2.5cm pieces
• 3 tbsp Plain flour
• 1 litre Chicken stock
• 1 tsp Dried thyme
• 1/2 cup (75g) Frozen peas
• 1 cup (150g) Self-raising flour
• 1/2 cup (125ml) Milk
• 3/4 tsp Salt, divided

You’ll need: Large lidded pot

Method

1. 1

   Melt 20g of the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onion, carrots and celery for 6 minutes until softening.

2. 2

   Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes, stirring. Sprinkle over the plain flour and cook for 1 minute.

3. 3

   Gradually stir in the stock, then add the thyme and 1/2 tsp of the salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce has thickened.

4. 4

   Meanwhile, rub the cold butter into the self-raising flour and remaining 1/4 tsp salt with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the milk to make a soft, sticky dough.

5. 5

   Stir the peas into the pot. Drop spoonfuls of dough on top, spaced apart. Cover and simmer gently for 12–15 minutes without lifting the lid, until the dumplings are puffed and cooked through in the middle.

6. 6

   Check a piece of chicken is white with no pink. Serve in bowls.