Creamy Chicken Pot with Herby Bread Dumplings

I've fancied making bread dumplings for ages and always use a simple recipe from a German vegetarian cookbook, Vegetarisches Kochvergnügen, I've had for more than 20 years. They go best with a creamy stroganoff and I stuck with the creamy part but made a chicken pot instead. I like to serve this with a leafy salad in a sharp vinaigrette that contains plenty of mustard to help cut through the rich cream sauce. Here's the recipe for my favourite vinaigrette.

Tip: Leftover dumplings are delicious sliced and pan fried in olive oil or butter.

(serves 4-6)

Dumplings:
400 g of white rolls or baguette
2 eggs
pinch of nutmeg
pepper
300 ml milk (250 ml, if using spinach)
a handful of chopped flat leaf parsley
250 g spinach, optional

Chicken Pot:
1 kg of chicken drumsticks and thighs, preferably free range or organic
1 red onion
1-2 celery sticks
3 garlic cloves
a few fresh thyme sprigs
2 small bay leaves
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
white wine
150 ml chicken or vegetable stock
300 ml soured cream or crème fraîche
a handful of chopped flat leaf parsley
juice of 1/2 lemon to squeeze over the finished dish

1. First of all, wash the spinach, if used, and shake or spin but leaving some water clinging to the leaves. Place into a no  stick pan and cook over a low to medium heat until wilted. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Reserve the liquid. Roughly chop the spinach. Set aside.

2. Next, start making the dumplings. Warm up the milk and cut the rools into very thin slices. Place into a bowl. Beat the eggs with the milk, season with pepper and nutmeg and pour over the bread. Add the parsley and spinach. Mix well by hand or with a fork until you have a chunky 'dough'. Leave for 15 minutes.

3. In the meantime, heat some olive oil in a large pan, slice the onion, celery and garlic, add to the pan together with the thyme sprigs and fennel seeds and sautée over a medium heat to soften but not brown the veg. Remove and set aside. 

4. Season the chicken with pepper and salt. Heat more oil, add the chicken pieces to the pan and brown on both sides. Deglaze with a generous glug of dry white wine, then add the reserved spinach juices and stock as well as the vegetables. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and stir in the cream. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Add the fresh lemon juice, sprinkle the parsley over the top and gently mix.

5. While the chicken is cooking, knead the dumpling mix and shape into 12-18 dumplings. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook your dumplings over a medium heat in gently simmering water for 12-15 minutes.

Wildflower Bruschetta

Yesterday, we went for a walk and I was determined to do some foraging and prepare something wild for our Sunday dinner. And I was successful. We found nettles in abundance but also dandelion flowers, coltsfoot and daisies and were looking forward to a wild feast. Apart from the bruschetta I also made nettle soup and nettle risotto.

When we got home, we were really hungry and it was still nice in the garden so I quickly prepared some bruschetta with the wildflowers.

(serves 2)

4 slices of ciabatta
a large handful of dandelion flowers and buds
4 coltsfoot stems (that's all I found)
a few small vine tomatoes
a small handful of daisies
1 garlic clove
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil

Wash each type of flowers separately and spin. Peel the garlic clove. Toast the ciabatta. In the meantime, heat the oil in a frying pan, fry the dandelion and coltsfoot for about 3 minutes and season with pepper und salt. Half the tomatoes and season with a little salt to bring out the flavor. Place in a bowl and scatter a few daisies on top.

Rub the toasted ciabatta slices with garlic, divide the fried flowers among them, scatter the remaining daisies over the top and enjoy – outdoors if possible.

Bread with Red Pepper Pesto

Even after more than 20 years in the UK, I still miss German bread so in 2003 I acquired a bread maker. I didn't like the look or the cost of the machines available here so my cousin brought over from Germany. When I needed to bake a fresh bread yesterday, I consulted the leaflet that came with that very first bread maker. However, nothing was quite what I had in mind so I improvised a bit with some left over red pepper pesto and the result is very tasty. I can actually taste the sweetness of the roasted peppers as well as the fennel seeds.

400 ml luke warm water
1.5 tsp brown sugar
2.5 tsp sea salt
3 tbsp red pepper pesto
590 g strong white bread flour
200 g wholemeal wheat flour
11 g dried yeast.

Add all the ingredients in the above order into he breadmaker and bake as regula bread (menu 1 on my machine).

Asparagus and Mozzarella Bruschetta

This was a spontaneous starter I made tonight. We didn't get an organic box this week - they didn't get our email order - so I decided to throw the whole 'buy seasonal' to the wind and bought some lovely veggies for my favourite style of cuisine: Mediterranean!

I just love green asparagus and in spring we eat it by the truck load so it was a pleasant surprise to find it half-price at the supermarket yesterday. I bought two bunches and despite the fact we've been eating rice the last couple of days I think the second bunch will be turned into an asparagus risotto tomorrow.

But tonight, it made a lovely, luxurious bruschetta.

250g green asparagus
rocket leaves
garlic clove
1 mozzarella, sliced
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
extra virgin olive oil
ciabatta or baguette slices
1 fresh fig per person (optional), cut into segments

1. Prepare the asparagus by getting rid of the woody bits. Bend each asparagus spear, it'll snap leaving the tender part of the spear. Discard the rest.

2. Brush the asparagus with oil and place under a hot grill (or on the BBQ) about 10cm away from the grill elements. Turn after about 5 minutes. This'll give you a good idea of how long it'll take till it's cooked. Season with pepper and salt before placing it on the bruschetta.

3. When the asparagus is almost done, place the bread slices under the grill also.

4. Once the bread is toasted, rub with garlic and transfer to a hot plate. Top with rocket leaves, asparagus, mozzarella and drizzle with olive oil. Add the fig if used and serve immediately.

Home-made ciabatta

When I was a student and shared a flat I baked bread quite often because I'd just started getting into whole foods and of course, there were enough people who'd eat it before it went stale. Decent bread was the one thing I never stopped missing after moving to the UK so a few years ago I bought a breadmaker and have never looked back. Nowadays, for quickness, I mostly use bread mixes but I still have that first bread making book (Anneliese Eckert: Mehr Freude und Erfolg beim Brotbacken)from over 20 years ago and one of these days I will start a sourdough instead of using yeast.

While fresh yeast is easily available in German supermarkets, it is not sold in the UK. One way to get it is to ask at the baker's in large supermarkets - they usually give it out for free but while that's great as a one off it's a bit tedious to do once a week or even more frequently. So I eventually gave in and tried my luck with dried yeast which is available in either 7g sachets or 100g tins.

One of the recipes in the book is for baguette and I often make this at the weekend - using the bread maker for the dough, of course ;). I've played around with it a bit replacing some of the white bread flour (up to half) with stone ground wholemeal flour and adding oil to get a ciabatta-style bread.

750g strong white bread flour (or for a wholemeal bread replacing up to half with stone ground wholemeal flour)
10g dried yeast
2-3tsp salt (I've opted for the smaller quantity)
2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
500ml of tepid water
milk or egg yolk for brushing

1. In the breadmaker:
1. Add water, salt and oil first, then the flour and yeast. Select the dough-making programme, which on my breadmaker takes 90 minutes.

2. After the programme is finished, prepare a work area for shaping the bread. I just sprinkle some flour on a clean kitchen worktop. Remove the dough from the tin. Fish out the kneading hook(s) and place on the worktop. Split in half and shape both halves into ciabattas.

3. Oil an oven tray and place the ciabattas on it. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven. Meanwhile brush the two loaves with milk or egg yolk. Bake at 220°C/gas mark 5/160°C in fan-assisted oven for 35 minutes. My gas oven does not seem to be that hot so when I want the bread to brown I actually bake it at the highest setting.

5. Transfer onto a rack to cool.

Tip:
To find out whether the bread is done, remove from the baking tray, turn upside down and lightly tap it with your fingers. If it sounds hollow, it's ready.

Making the bread by hand:
These instructions are based on my trusty German breadmaking book.

1. Place flour into a large bowl, sprinkle salt and yeast over the top and mix all the ingredients together.

2. Stir in the lukewarm water and keep stirring until the dough is coming away from the bowl. Shape into a ball and knead vigorously on a floured board or kitchen worktop for 10-15 minutes until the dough is no longer sticky and starts to form bubbles.

2. Dust the base of the bowl with flour and place the dough ball back into it. Place the bowl into a large plastic bag, cover the whole thing with a tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes until doubled in size.

3. Split into 2 halves and knead through thoroughly. Shape into two ciabattas.

4. Oil an oven tray and place the ciabattas on it. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven. Meanwhile brush the two loaves with milk or egg yolk. Bake at 220°C/gas mark 5/160°C in fan-assisted oven for 35 minutes. My gas oven does not seem to be that hot so when I want the bread to brown I actually bake it at the highest setting.

6. Transfer onto a rack to cool.

Ciabatta Pizza

This is supposed to be a quick meal but somehow I never manage to cook anything quick :) though using a ciabatta does cut the preparation time considerably. If I make a pizza dough in the breadmaker, the process still takes 90 minutes. So here are some ideas for toppings - all of which I had at hand tonight. I actually didn't use a ciabatta but a home-made baguette, that's why there are three pieces.

Tomato sauce:
1 440ml tin of chopped tomatoes in thick juice
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 red pepper, chopped (optional)
1tsp balsamic vinegar
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
1 bayleaf, fresh or dried, rolled up and fixed with a cocktail stick (this makes it easier to find in the sauce.



Topping Suggestions:
black olives
1 mozzarella, halved, then sliced
1 courgette, sliced and browned without oil in a non-stick pan
2 tomatoes, sliced and deseeded
sliced mushrooms
1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced
1 red pepper sliced
2 onions, sautéd with the following:
- freshly ground pepper
- fresh thyme (dried if fresh is not available)
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

1 ciabatta, split lengthways

Preparation:
1. Tomato sauce
Heat the olive oil and add onion, garlic and red peppers (if used). Sauter until the veg is almost tender. Season with pepper. Add the tinned tomatoes, vinegar and bayleaf. Season with salt and simmer for 15-20 minutes over a lowish heat to infuse the sauce with all the flavours. Don't cover as this will cause condensation and prevent the sauce from being nice and dry. Set aside until ready to use.




2. Sautéd red onions
Heat a little olive oil and add the onions, garlic, thyme leaves and sauter over a high heat for a couple of minutes. Then cover and turn the heat down. Sweat until the onions are soft. If liquid has accumulated, take of the lid and turn up the heat until the liquid has evaporated. Set aside until ready to use.

3. Assembling your ciabatta pizza
Spread both ciabatta halves thickly with the tomato sauce. Put on a layer of mozzarella.

Top one half with the onions, chilli and a few black olives on top of and around the mozzarella.

Top the other half with a layer of all the other ingredients. Optionally drizzle the veggies with a tiny bit of oil and season with pepper.

Cook in a hot oven, approx. gas mark 7/220°C, until the cheese has melted and the raw veggies have browned. Serve immediately.



Variations:
1. Feta instead of mozzarella with sautéd red onions. The sweetness of the onions and the saltiness of the feta really complement each other.

Broad Bean Bruschetta

More organic veg from our friend that needed to be transformed into something delicious: about a dozen pods of broad beans. BTW, check out their website.



a couple of small handfuls of broad beans
1/2 shallot, chopped very finely
1 tomato, deseeded and cut into chunks
3 sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 small garlic clove, chopped very finely
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
a few salad leaves for garnish

a couple of slices of bread, toasted and rubbed with garlic

1. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the shallot and garlic and sauter over a low heat for a minute or so.

2. Add the broad beans and toss together for 30 seconds before adding both types of tomatoes. Keep tossing until the beans and fresh tomato are just tender. Season to taste. Meanwhile toast the bread and rub with garlic. Place on a warmed plate and scatter the salad leaves over the top.

3. Spoon the veggies onto the hot bread drizzling with a little more olive oil if desired and eat immediately.