Paleo Chicken & Dumplings

I LOVE chicken & dumplings. 

But, I think we have made it in our house one time simply because of how time intensive it is and it's not "healthy" (cue the tears). I had been craving a hearty soup so Jason found a paleo (healthier) version of them for me to try and make. I'll be the first one to tell you, they don't taste JUST like "real" chicken and dumplings but, my craving was satisfied and these were really, really good--and much easier than I thought they would be. 

This recipe came from Real Food with Jessica, an online blog. 

Which she said came from this book, Paleo Soups & Stews--which I am now convinced I need to buy since this dish turned out so well. 

I need to preface and say that we went a little off the path when it came to this recipe and I did my best explaining it below but, I'm not sure I did the best job. If you want to try this and the recipe makes no sense, I'm here to help. I'm mainly sharing it so I can refer back to it when I want to make them again!

Paleo Chicken & Dumplings

What you need: 

for the soup:

1/2 cup arrowroot starch (had to get ours off of amazon & 
actually didn't even end up using it, you'll see why below)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces (she used 8 thighs) 

(Jason homemade broth for me so we used that chicken for the recipe

 it easily shred after simmering for 48 hours)

2 tablespoons ghee

1 medium onion, diced

2 celery ribs, diced

2 medium carrots, diced

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 quarts 8 cups chicken broth 

3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk

for the dumplings:

3/4 cup almond flour

3/4 cup cassava flour 

(I had not heard of this flour but lo and behold, it can be found at Kroger)

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk

What you do: 
I need to preface by saying since we made our own broth, we did not follow these first steps pertaining to the chicken. Jason homemade a broth for me and so I used that broth with the chicken, shredded in it. He slow-cooked it on the stove-top for 48 hours before all of this. So, what's italicized it from the original recipe but, I did not do it.

In a large bowl, whisk together arrowroot powder, salt, and pepper. 

Dredge the chicken pieces in the mixture, coating them on all sides.

In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, heat the ghee. 

When hot, add the chicken in batches and cook until golden brown on all sides, 4-5 minutes a side.

Remove the chicken and set aside. 

***Rather than doing all that was listed above, I had the shredded chicken in the broth on the stovetop on low, ready to add all the below ingredients, eventually***

If you make your own broth like we did, then you'll do the following in a medium sized pan...
(if you did what the original recipe suggested and cooked the chicken separately, follow along exactly as written below--if you did it the way I did with the homemade broth and shredded chicken already ready, then skip the italicized parts)

Add the onion, celery, and carrots to the pot and sauté for 5-7 minutes,
until the veggies have softened.

Stir the thyme and turmeric into the vegetables. 

Pour in the broth, scraping up any brown bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Return the chicken to the pot and bring to a simmer 

Simmer the soup until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. 

Remove the chicken pieces and set them aside to cool.
(didn't do this part, mine was already in the broth)

While the soup is simmering, make the dumplings.

Mix together the almond flour, cassava flour, baking soda, salt, and coconut milk. 

Use your hands to form the dough into 24 small dumplings. 

The dumplings should be somewhat round, but still rustic looking.

Drop the dumplings into the simmering soup and cook for 5 minutes (or longer, if needed).

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and shred it. 

Discard the skin and bones. (Save the bones for making broth, if desired). Add the shredded chicken (my chicken was already in the broth and good to go) and coconut milk to the soup and simmer another 3-4 minutes, until heated though.

Garnish with fresh parsley or chives, if desired.

Jason liked it, I liked it, and we shared with my Mom & Dad, who both liked it--it was a hit! 

I froze some to see how it reheated and the only thing is that the dumplings don't keep their shape with the reheating/stirring and that's my favorite part of chicken and dumplings but, they were still tasty when reheated, they just took on the form of creamy chicken soup instead--ha!