Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

1 3 1/2 - 4 lb. chicken
-- cut in pieces
1 tb Unsalted butter
1 tb Mild vegetable oil such as
-safflower
Salt and fresh ground pepper
2 Bay leaves
4 Fresh thyme sprigs
4 Allspice berries
1 md Rutabaga; peeled
-- cut in 1/2" cubes
1 lg Potato; peeled
-- cut in 2" cubes
4 sm Carrots; peeled
-- cut in 1/2" cubes
2 c All-purpose flour
1 tb Baking powder
1/2 ts Baking soda
1/4 ts Freshly grated nutmeg
1 Egg; beaten
3 tb Unsalted butter; melted
2/3 c Buttermilk
1/2 c Wild blueberries
-- fresh or frozen
-or-
1/4 c Golden raisins
-- coarsely chopped
2 c Green peas; fresh or frozen
3 sm Parsnips; cut in 1/2" cubes

Rinse chicken well and pat it thoroughly dry.

Heat the butter and oil in a large (at least 8 qt.) heavy stockpot or
Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the chicken
pieces, season them generously with salt and pepper, and brown on
both sides, seasoning the other side when you turn the pieces. Brown
the chicken in several batches to avoid crowding the pan, 8 minutes
per batch.

Transfer chicken to a plate or bowl, drain off half the fat in the
pan, and then return the chicken to the pan. Add enough water to just
cover the chicken. Then add the herbs and rutabaga. Cover, and
leaving the heat at medium-high, bring to a boil. Cook until
rutabaga is nearly soft through but still somewhat crisp, about 10
minutes. Add the potato and the carrots, cover, and cook until
carrots are nearly tender, about 15 minutes.

While the stew is cooking, make the dumpling dough. To do this, sift
the flour, baking powder, 1 tsp. salt, baking soda and nutmeg
together into a medium-size bowl. Make a well in the middle and add
the egg, melted butter and buttermilk; mix them together in the well
with a small whisk, a fork or your fingers. Working quickly,
incorporate the dry ingredients to make a fairly stiff dough. Fold
in the blueberries or raisins.

Adjust the seasoning of the stew and make sure it is boiling merrily;
then stir in the peas and parsnips. Next, one heaping tablespoon at a
time, drop the dumpling dough on top of the stew so the dumplings are
not touching. Cover, and cook just until the dumplings are puffed and
cooked through, no longer than 15 minutes. Check them occasionally to
be sure they don't overcook and become dry.

To serve, cut through the dumplings with a serving spoon, and ladle
the chicken and vegetables into warmed shallow soup bowls (remove the
thyme and bay leaves). Place the dumplings on top; serve immediately.

Pinot Noir goes well with this.

From _Farm House Cookbook_ by Susan Herrmann Loomis. New York: Workman
Publishing Company, Inc., 1991. Pp. 159-160. ISBN 0-89480-772-2.

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