Recipe: Gwyneth Paltrow's Chicken and Dumplings

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

"This is probably the homiest dish in the book. I absolutely love to make this; it's an uncomplicated one-pot dish that you can prepare in the morning and keep on the back of the stove building deep layers of flavor. The chicken falls off the bone and the biscuit-like dumplings are light and delicious. I was seven when my mother filmed The Great Santini in Beaufort, South Carolina - one of the happiest times in my childhood. I spent afternoons running around the marshes and would come home to freshly baked biscuits by Neetha Polite, the lady who was looking after us. The biscuits in the recipe are inspired by her. When I make this, it vanishes - there are never any leftovers."

1 organic whole chicken
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small leek, roughly chopped
1 slice duck bacon, finely diced
1 dried bay leaf
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock
2 cups water
1 cup unbleached all-purpose or white spelt flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
Fresh parsley, for garnish

TO PREPARE THE CHICKEN:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Wash and dry the chicken. Discard the back and cut the chicken into 10 pieces. Aggressively season the chicken pieces with coarse salt and pepper.

Heat the butter and olive oil in the largest, widest oven-safe pot you have (at least 12-inches in diameter, with a lid) over medium-high heat. Thoroughly brown the chicken pieces, in batches if necessary (7-8 minutes per side), and remove to a plate, leaving the fat in the pot.

Add the vegetables, duck bacon, bay leaf, and thyme to the pot and cook for 15 minutes over medium low heat.

Return the chicken to the pot. Add the white wine, bring to a boil, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the stock and water, bring to a boil, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat.

Cover the pot with a circle of parchment paper, and put the lid on top. Place the chicken in a 400 degree F oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours.

TO MAKE THE DUMPLINGS:
Combine the flour, baking powder, half-and-half, and fine salt together in a bowl. Take the pot out of the oven, discard the parchment, and scoop large spoonfuls of the dumpling mixture on top of the chicken mixture - you should end up with about 10 dumplings. Cover the pot and put back in the oven for 10 minutes.

TO SERVE:
Sprinkle with parsley and a bit more ground black pepper. Serve immediately, being sure to spoon plenty of the juices over each portion.

Makes 8 servings
Adapted from source: My Father's Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family and Togetherness by Gwyneth Paltrow