Cajun Chicken and Dumplings

After a long walk down the dusty red road, welcome home weary traveler. It’s supper time at Mama Lily’s house and the table is set full of deep south favorites. Crocheted doilies covered with steaming drop biscuits sit next to plates of sliced fresh tomatoes. The chicken and dumplings are on the stove and the smell drifts all the way to the road. Here, we’ve added in the peppers, sausage, and spices to turn it into Cajun Chicken and Dumplings. It’s the comfort food. Welcome home.

It started with Ma Roux at some point. Every recipe just became Cajun. Overnight, Cajun and Creole spices got added with jalapeno peppers and regular dishes became something more. Every generation adds it’s own ingredients and builds temples upon temples.

CAJUN CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Author: Mama Lily

Recipe type: Entree

Cuisine: American

Prep time:  1 hour

Cook time:  1 hour

Total time:  2 hours

Serves: 8

Alabama standard combined with Louisiana ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 whole chicken
• chicken bouillon
• 1 lb sliced andouille sausage
• 1 diced poblano pepper
• 2 diced jalapeno peppers
• 1 diced Spanish onion
• 1 tablespoon diced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon each black pepper, red pepper, white pepper
• 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
• 2 cups self rising flour
• 4 tablespoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dill
• ¾ cup milk
• 2 boiled eggs

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cover chicken with water and bouillon, bring to a boil
2. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 min
3. Saute sliced sausage on medium until done, set aside
4. Combine vegetables, mushrooms and spices in skillet and saute until tender, set aside
5. Saute mushrooms until tender
6. Remove chicken from water. Debone and tear into chunks
7. Add chicken, sausage, vegetables to water and bring to a rolling boil
8. Add eggs and boil for 15 min. Remove, peel, slice and return to water
9. Dumplins
10. Mix flour, salt, dill, and baking powder
11. Add milk and mix into a ball
12. Press and flour on cutting board, pressing very flat (1 cm)
13. Cut into strips 1″ x 3″
14. Drop into boiling water and don’t mix too much
15. You’re done. Just sit back and let it happen. It can cook as long as you want now or get it to the supper table.

This is the ultimate fusion food. The peppers are Spanish, the seasoning and sausage are French Acadian, and the dumplings are Creek Indian. For less spicy, use less peppers but still use all three. Red, black, and white work well when used together.

Variations: Less dumplings make is soupier. More dumplings feeds more people. Use all-purpose flour to make them denser and heavy. Self-rising flour helps them to be bouncy and light. To make the original recipe, leave out the mushrooms, jalapeno, poblano, and sausage and substitute celery and bell pepper.

This is the ultimate comfort food. You’ll make yourself sick just so you can stay home and enjoy it. My sister, Monique once maimed a peace officer for spilling the last of the bowl. It’s serious magic.

Be sure to check out some of our other recipes including Nicaraguan Jalapeno Cream Sauce.