OLD FASHIONED CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

OLD FASHIONED CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS
1 Whole Chicken, or portions ( I like using bone in)
Water, (enough to cover chicken)
Herbs (I like parsley, basil, oregano, bay, savory, tarragon), to taste
Garlic, to taste
Veggies (I like a mix of peas, carrots, corn, green beans), the amount depends on how much you are making
Pie Dough Pastry (makes 2 pie crusts)
3 cups flour
1 cup lard
1/4 tsp vinegar
pinch of salt
1/4 – 1/2 cup ice water.
I sometimes add a little Parmesan cheese and/or herbs to the pastry.
Place chicken, water, herbs and garlic in a pot and cook until the chicken is done.
Debone the chicken and place back into the pot with the broth you made when cooking.
Taste to see if it needs more herbs or garlic.
Add the veggies, and bring to a boil.

To Make the pastry as follows:
Put flour, salt in a bowl and mix. Cut in lard (can use butter in place of this) until it forms pea sized pieces. Add in vinegar. Add ice water by Tablespoon until it just forms a dough. Do Not Over Mix or your dough will be tough. Work with Cold ingredients for a better product. I keep a small bottle of vinegar in the frige for making dough. This is enough for a two crust pie
Take the pie crust, roll out (do not dust off the extra flour,leave it on the dough, as this helps thicken it a little) and cut into 2×2 pieces.
When the pot comes to a boil drop the pie crust pieces into the pot, cover and cook for about 10 mins.

**** If you have too much pastry for your pot, cut it into squares anyway, and freeze what you don’t use for next time

Photo: Adam Cloete