Rachel Allen: Home Cooking

I have been following 'Rachel Allen: Home Cooking' series on BBC iPlayer, and I've just spent by time drooling over them and that was it. I tend to watch cooking programmes with alot of enthusiasm but I never actually get round to trying anything. Its just one of those things I do. However, I just watched episode 3 and I think this recipe is quite interesting, and hopefully I will break the trend and try it out:

Chicken casserole with cheesy dumplings

Ingredients

For the casserole:
1 x 1.8kg/3lb 15oz whole chicken
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
350g/12¼oz rindless streaky bacon rashers, cut into 2cm/½in slices
1 large onion, peeled, roughly chopped
2 large carrots, peeled, cut diagonally into 2cm/½in slices
700ml/1 pint 5¼fl oz chicken or vegetable stock
few sprigs fresh thyme

For the cheesy herb dumplings
350g/12¼oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp finely chopped mixed herbs (such as parsley thyme, rosemary or chives)
300ml/10½fl oz buttermilk
25g/1oz cheddar, finely grated

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. For the casserole, remove the breasts from the chicken and cut them in half.
3. Remove the legs and joint them into thighs and drumsticks. This will yield eight chicken pieces in total. Season the chicken pieces, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Heat the olive oil in a large lidded casserole over a high heat. Add the bacon and fry for 1-2 minutes, or until crisp and golden-brown. Remove from the casserole with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper.
5. Add the chicken pieces to the casserole, in batches, turning each piece until browned on all sides. Remove each batch of chicken from the casserole and set aside on a warm plate.
6. Add the onion and carrots to the casserole and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until golden-brown.
7. Return the cooked bacon and chicken pieces to the dish casserole. Pour over the stock, stir well, then add the thyme sprigs and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring the mixture slowly to the boil, then cover the casserole with the lid and transfer to the oven. Cook for 20 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, for the cheesy herb dumplings, sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl. Add the herbs and mix well, then make a well in the centre of the mixture.
9. Pour 250ml/9fl oz of the buttermilk into the well. Stretch the fingers of one hand out like a claw, then mix the flour and buttermilk mixture together, adding more flour or more of the remaining buttermilk as necessary, until the mixture comes together as a soft dough. (NB: Do not overmix. You may not need to use all of the buttermilk).
10. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 2cm/¾in thickness. Cut 10-12 rounds from the dough using an upturned mug or cookie cutter and roll each into a ball.
11. Remove the casserole from the oven, then increase the heat to 230C/450F/Gas 12. Arrange the dumplings on top of the chicken mixture, leaving a slight gap between each dumpling to allow them to spread during cooking. Sprinkle over the cheese.
13. Return the casserole to the oven, uncovered, and cook for 10 minutes.
14. Reduce the heat to 200C/400F/Gas 6, and continue to cook the casserole for a further 20 minutes, or until the dumplings are crisp and golden-brown and the chicken is cooked through. Set aside to cool slightly before serving.