Ordinary chicken and dumplings are pretty amazing on their own. I took something already fantastic and put the spice mama spin on it. If there is such a thing as heaven in a bowl, this is it.  While it’s true, I am smitten with black beluga lentils, my love affair with chicken and dumplings is almost as old as I am.  I didn’t know it was possible to love chicken and dumplings more than I already did, until now. This is taste bud bliss seeping love deep into all the crevices of my heart..

This recipe starts with:

Smoked Chicken Bone Broth 

1. Salt an organic chicken and let it rest in the refrigerator for a day.
2. Hot smoke at 250 F the whole chicken for six hours (or until the internal temp by the thigh is 165 F)
3. Let the chicken cool until you can remove all the meat from the carcass, save both the skin and the chicken.
4. Roast the bones in a large ceramic stock pot (that can hold at least six quarts of water) – 400 F for an hour;
5. Keeping the bones in the stock pot, add six quarts of water (leave about three inches from the top). Add in the smoked chicken skin.
6. Cut up a whole onion (keep the skins) and cut a whole head of celery into four inch large stalks. Add them into the stock.
7. Put in two tablespoons of peppercorns into the stock. Add in two tablespoons of Alaska Spice Shop Shrimp and Dungy boil.  Add in 1 tbs of apple cider vingar.
8.  Simmer for 10 hours, strain out all the solids and freeze the bone broth in quart containers.

This recipe makes four servings, set aside six cups of the smoked chicken bone broth:

Sprouted Grain Dumplings

This took a couple tries to get dumplings with that classic dumpling texture – fluffy on the inside, a little soggy on the outside.

Ingredients

• 1 cup milled sprouted soft white wheat
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp Xantham gum
• 1 tsp poultry geist spice blend
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs melted butter

Directions

1. Mix the dry ingredients
2. Mix the wet ingredients
3. Combine wet and dry ingredients with a fork
4. Get a bowl of water to keep hands wet and form the dough into 1 inch balls (this dough will make about 16 balls).
5. Let the balls rest while you put the the soup together.

Chicken and Vegetable Soup

1. Dice one small onion (about 2/3 cup)
2. Dice several stalks of celery (about 2/3 cup)
3. Saute onion and celery in 1/3 cup chicken bone broth until both are soft.
4. Add in 1 cup of diced chicken.
5. Add in 1 cup frozen peas.
6. Put in 6 cups of the smoked chicken bone broth.
7. Heat to a simmer and salt to taste (1/2 tsp at a time to avoid over salting)
8. Bring to a boil.

Cooking the Dumplings

1. Add the dumpling balls to the boiling liquid
2. Cover and cook for 15 minutes
3. Uncover and cook for 5 minutes
4. Turn off stove and let sit for ten minutes

Serving

Add in 1/2 cup of heavy cream before serving.

Ladle into four bowls – about 4 dumplings per bowl.