Selph Naturopath Sarah Benna Doyle shares her favourite winter warming recipes to ward off the cold and lift the spirit. And what is more heart warming and hearty than a homemade chicken stew?
Sarah recommends poaching the chicken first to create the stock which yields more collagen for extra nourishment.
Keep reading for the full recipe and method below.
Ingredients
Chicken soup
Whole chicken
4 carrots
4 celery sticks
2 brown onion
3 bay leaves
1 head of garlic
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
Green of choice: silverbeet, kale, tuscan cabbage ect.
Chicken stock (not essential but will provide more flavour)
Turmeric root (if desired)
Salt and pepper
Dumplings:
1c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/4 c milk
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
Method
Put chicken in a large pot with a lid and cover with stock and just enough water to cover the entire chicken, or just water if not using stock. Chop one onion, lightly smash garlic and about 1cm of turmeric root if using and add to pot with bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper and let gently simmer until cooked, when meat easily pulls away from the bone. About 1 hour.
While chicken is poaching, chop celery and carrots into desired thickness and dice remaining onion. Remove the chicken and set in a large bowl to cool. Strain stock into another large bowl to reserve as broth.
In the same pot where chicken was poached, return to stove and set to medium heat. Gently sauté carrots, celery and onions until they have a nice colour and smell fragrant. Add 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme. Return stock to pot and cover simmering gently. Whilst soup is simmering, make the dumpling mixture.
Mix flour, salt and baking powder together. In another bowl gently beat the egg and add the milk and olive oil. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add egg mixture. Stir with a fork until just combined. Rinse and chop the green of choice.
Whilst soup is simmering, separate the chicken meat from the bones and skin and shred. Once vegetables in the broth are almost tender (will vary according to side) add the greens, shredded chicken and stir through. Drop dumplings a generous spoonful at a time into the broth (they will be sticky, that’s good). Then return lid and cook for 12-15 minutes until dumpling are cooked through.
You can also cook this without dumplings or make gluten free. Enjoy!
Sarah has kindly written an e-book with more recipes and tips for looking after our physical, mental and emotional health this season.
Click the link below to get your copy.