Dijon Chicken & Dumpling Casserole

 

Here I am today with part two of yesterday back to the basics post with a delicious idea of what to do with your roast chicken leftovers.  In all truth we eat a lot of chicken in this house and I have about a bazillion ways of dealing with it  I am truly the Queen of Leftovers!

 

This is truly a delicious casserole.   Somewhat reminiscent of a chicken pot pie you have a creamy sauce filled with lovely chunks of the leftover chicken.

 

The sauce is lightly flavoured with tarragon.  No need to use fresh, although you certainly could if you wanted to.   Dried herbs work perfectly fine, and I have to say in all honest, when cooking things I don't see the advantages of using fresh over dried.  (So long as your dried herbs are not old and stale.)

 

I grow a lot of my own herbs in the summer in my kitchen garden and I dry them myself, so mine are usually pretty fresh.  I use my dehydrator to dry them.  Of course you can also chop and freeze fresh if you want, but drying is what works for me.

 

So back to the chicken.  This is as simple as making a delicious sauce.  I have used white wine in this which gives it a really nice flavour, but you could use all chicken stock if you don't have any wine.

 

The Dijon mustard gives it a nice kick and instead of cream I have chosen to use low fat undiluted evaporated milk, but if you aren't worried about calories do use the cream.  I find that in dishes like this where the milk isn't going to overpower the other flavours the undiluted evaporated milk works a charm.

 

And part of the reason I wanted to cut back on the calories and fat in the sauce was because of these deliciously buttery and short dumplings.  These are not soft fluffy steamed dumplings, but sturdier almost scone like baked dumplings.  They bake on top of the stew in the oven and are slightly herby . . .  oh boy but the two are so delicious together.  

 

That delicious stew and those buttery herbed dumplings make it seem like you are not eating leftovers at all really.  And I am happy to say that you can also cut the recipe quite successfully in half.  I did with no problem whatsoever.  You can bake this in individual casseroles or in one big one.

 

 

*Dijon Chicken & Dumpling Casserole*

Serves 4

Printable Recipe
 

This is a delicious way of using up leftover cooked chicken.  Chicken in a creamy sauce topped with buttery dumplings and baked.  What's not to like? 

25g butter (1 1/2 TBS)

4 shallots, peeled and  minced

2 tsp plain flour

300ml white wine (1 1/3 cups)

150ml chicken stock (2/3 cup)

150ml double cream or undiluted evaporated milk (2/3 cup)

1 tsp dried tarragon flakes

1/2 TBS dried parsley flakes

2 tsp Dijon mustard

250g of diced cooked chicken (2 cups)

salt and pepper to taste

For the dumplings:

200g self raising flour (scant 1 1/2 cups)

100g butter, frozen (7 TBS)

1/2 tsp dried tarragon flakes

1 tsp dried parsley flakes

3 to 4 TBS cold water

salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Have ready one large casserole dish or four individual ones.  (If using individual ones, place them onto a baking tray for easy of placing in and removing from the oven.)

 

Melt the butter over medium low heat.  Add the shallows and cook, stirring frequently until softened.  Sprinkle with the flour, stirring it in well.  Cook for about 2 minutes then slowly whisk in the white wine.  Whisk in the chicken stock, bring to the boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes.  Whisk in the cream, herbs and mustard. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.  Simmer for 10 minutes longer. 

 

Divide the chicken amongst the casserole dishes.  Knap an equal amount of the sauce over each.  Put in the oven while you make the dumplings.

 

To make the dumplings, measure the flour into a bowl. Stir in the herbs and some seasoning. Roughly grate the frozen butter over top.  Toss it in with a fork.  Stir in enough water to give you a soft dough.  Shape into 12 balls.  Remove the casserole(s) from the oven and place the balls on top.  Continue to bake for a further 20 minutes, until the dumplings are puffed and golden brown and the casserole is heated through.  Serve hot with boiled baby potatoes and a vegetable on the side.

 

So this is meal two from the chicken I roasted on Sunday.  Tune in tomorrow to see what I do with the rest!  Bon Appetit!

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