This is a definite family favorite and has become one of the most requested dishes among friends who come to dine with us! Light and delicious soaked whole grain dumplings (a.k.a. biscuits) top a rich and creamy sauce filled with shredded chicken (or turkey) and lots of veggies!
If you’re new to “soaking,” please check out “How to Soak Grains for Optimal Nutrition.”
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup organic whole spelt flour
- 1 cup organic kamut flour
- 1 cup plain organic kefir (or cultured buttermilk)
- 5 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 tbsp Kefir
- 1 tbsp aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp dried parsley
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp butter, plus 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups carrots, chopped (about 5-6 small carrots)
- 2 cups organic potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces (about 3 medium potatoes)
- 1 1/2 cups organic celery, chopped (about 3-4 stalks)
- 1 cup yellow onion, chopped (about ½ large onion)
- 1 cup fresh green beans, ends trimmed and cut in half
- 2 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock
- 1 1/2 tsp fresh organic sage, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp fresh organic thyme (leaves only)
- 1 tbsp coarse sea salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cups precooked, shredded organic chicken (or turkey)
- 1 cup plain almond milk (or raw whole milk)
Instructions
- Add flours to a large ceramic (or glass) mixing bowl.
- Using a fork, blend in kefir and melted butter.
- Use your hands to completely combine the ingredients and form a dough ball. (Will resemble pizza dough.)
- Cover the bowl and place it in a warm area of your kitchen for 24 hours.
- After soaking time is complete, add remaining ingredients.
- Using your hands, knead the ingredients into the dough. Dough will be very thick and sticky (like pizza dough) and it will take a couple minutes of kneading to combine.
- Once combined, set dough aside to rise a bit while you prepare the casserole.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Oil a 9”x13” baking dish with olive oil and set aside.
- Heat a very large sauté pan (or wok) over medium-high heat. Add butter and olive oil to the pan, along with the carrots, potatoes, celery, onion and green beans. Sauté veggies for about 3-4 minutes, until onion just starts to soften.
- Then add chicken stock and seasonings. Cover and simmer for about 5-6 minutes, until veggies just begin to soften. (Do not simmer too long or your veggies will become mushy during the baking process.)
- Turn off heat once simmering is completed.
- For a rich and creamy sauce, add the milk and two ladle-fulls of the simmered veggies to your blender or VitaMix. Blend until completely puréed and return the purée back to the pan with the veggie mixture and combine.
- Next, add the precooked, shredded chicken (or turkey) and combine well.
- Pour mixture into oiled 9x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle top with a light dash of dried sage, dried thyme and garlic powder.
- Scoop dumpling dough by rounded tablespoons and slightly flatten; then place evenly across the top of the casserole. (Keep dumplings fairly small so they cook evenly. As a point of reference, the dough yields about 24 dumplings.)
- Bake for 15-18 minutes until dumplings are lightly browned and casserole is bubbly. Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy