chicken and Dumplings

“It doesn’t get more comforting than a simmering pot of chicken, and soft, fluffy dumplings”
 -Melissa Clark, New York Times Food Columist

 
For the chicken

• 8 – 10 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on (aprox 1.1 – 1.5 kg)
  
• Salt & pepper for seasoning
  
• 1 Tbsp butter
  
• 2 Carrots thickly sliced
  
• 2 celery stalks, finely diced
  
• 1 large onion finely diced
  
• 2 bay leaves
  
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  
• ¼ cup flour
  
• 1.5 litres good quality chicken stock (use boiling water)
  
• 1 medium orange sweet potato cut into large chunks (aprox 250gms)
• Chopped fresh parsley to serve

 
For the dumplings

• 2 cups / 250gms flour
  
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
  
• 2 Tbsp chopped chives or parsley
  
• 200ml warm milk
  
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 30gms butter, melted
• 1 Tbs olive oil

 
Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode and while it warms up, season the chicken pieces well with salt & pepper.
 
When the Instant Pot screen says HOT, melt the butter in the pot and brown the chicken starting skin side down. Cook on both sides until golden brown. This will take approximately 5 minutes a side and you will need to do 2 batches. Set the chicken aside.
 
With the Instant Pot still on Sauté and using the residual fat in the pot, add the carrot, celery, onion, bay leaves and garlic and fry – stirring frequently for about 10 minutes until softened.
 
Add the ¼ cup flour and stir briefly until it starts to brown on the bottom of the pot. Add the stock and stir well to scrape off any bits stuck at the bottom or on the sides.
 
Return the chicken pieces back into the broth and close the lid.  Move the vent up to Sealing Position and set to Pressure Cook on High for 10 minutes.
 
While the chicken is cooking, make the dumpling mixture.
 
In a large bowl sift the flour and baking powder and mix in the chopped chives / parsley. In a jug, mix the warmed milk, with the salt, melted butter and olive oil. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and briefly mix until combined and a thick dough has formed. Do not over mix this.
 
After the chicken has completed cooking, manually release the pressure and open the lid. Remove the chicken pieces and set aside to cool.
 
Add the sweet potatoes to the sauce. Using 2 teaspoons, scoop up the dumpling dough to make a ball shape and drop these around the surface of the sauce in an even layer. Close the lid of the Instant Pot, move vent up and Pressure Cook on High for 3 minutes. Allow a Natural Release of pressure for 15 minutes then do a manual release of any remaining pressure.
 
While the dumplings are cooking, remove the skin from the chicken and shred the meat off the bones. Set this shredded meat aside and add it back to the dumpling mixture once it has finished cooking. Allow a few minutes for this to warm through and then serve in bowl and garnish with parsley.