Chef John Recipe ~ Farmer Cheese Dumplings

Chef John's American-style farmer cheese dumplings are easy to make and can be simmered in any type of liquid like gravy, soups, or stews.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 0.5 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cubed
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 0.3333 cup flour
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 celery, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 0.5 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons sliced green onions
• 0.5 cup farmer's cheese
• 1 large egg
• 1.25 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
• 0.5 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
• 0.333 cup self-rising flour
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Cooking Directions

1. Melt butter in a high saucepan with a lid over medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Mix in flour and stir until flour is well mixed in, making a roux, 2 to 3 minutes. You can add more flour if you want a thicker stew.
2. Pour in chicken broth and scrape up browned bits from the bottom. Add carrots and celery and bring gravy to a simmer. Lower heat to medium-low and maintain a steady simmer. Add thyme leaves and simmer until gravy is slightly reduced and has thickened, about 45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, make the dumplings: Combine farmer's cheese, egg, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix with a spoon until smooth. Add self-rising flour and mix until a very stiff batter forms.
4. Raise heat to medium and bring gravy back to a steady simmer. Add green onions.
5. Remove 1 heaping tablespoon dumpling batter at a time. Shape with the use of a second tablespoon into oval dumplings and carefully drop into the simmering liquid. You should get a total of 6 dumplings out of this recipe. Dust with cayenne pepper, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low.
6. Simmer and steam dumplings until they are puffed up and cooked through without stirring or peaking, about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt if necessary.

Nutrition Facts

• calories325 kcal
• carbohydrateContent16 g
• cholesterolContent117 mg
• fiberContent1 g
• proteinContent20 g
• saturatedFatContent12 g
• sodiumContent1730 mg
• fatContent20 g