Herby Chicken and Dumplings

Step 1

For the chicken and broth: Add the chicken to a large stockpot along with the garlic, celery, carrots, onions, parsley stalks, peppercorns and salt. Top the water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and will easily pull away from the bone 1 to 1 1/2 hours. While simmering, occasionally skim away any foam that rises to the surface.

Step 2

Using a pair of tongs, carefully remove the chicken from the pot and set aside in a large bowl until cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl and set aside.

Step 3

For the soup and dumplings: Return the pot to the stove and place over medium heat. Melt the butter in the pot and transfer 1 tablespoon of the melted butter to a small bowl and set aside. Add the diced carrots, celery and onion to the pot with the remaining butter, season with salt and pepper and cook until softened and lightly golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully pour in the broth and bring to a boil for 10 minutes.

Step 4

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Add in the buttermilk and the reserved melted butter as well as the chives and half of the parsley. Stir just to combine and set aside.

Step 5

Meanwhile, remove the skin from the chicken and pull the meat from the bones. Using two forks, shred the meat into large bite-size hunks.

Step 6

Add the chicken into the pot and stir in the spinach, cream, lemon juice and remaining parsley. Using two spoons or a small spring-loaded ice cream scoop, drop 16 to 18 dumplings into the pot

Step 7

leaving some space between each. Cover the pot with a lid, turn the heat down to low and cook until the dumplings are cooked through, about 15 minutes.