Braised Chicken and Polenta Dumplings with Mushrooms
EyeSwoon Kitchen
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
Braised Chicken
4 whole chicken legs, around 2 pounds
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 cup dried porcini mushrooms
¼ cup all-purpose flour, for dredging
1 pound chanterelle mushrooms
3-4 shallots, chopped
2 large leeks, white parts only, trimmed and chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
¼ cup dry sherry
6 sprigs of sage + extra for serving
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Polenta Dumplings
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
Pinch of nutmeg
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup whole milk
The Prep
Season the chicken legs generously all over with salt and pepper. Set aside for 15-20 minutes.
Rehydrate the porcini mushrooms in 1 1/2 cups of boiling water until softened, about 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large shallow bowl, dredge the chicken legs in the flour. Make sure to toss off any excess flour. Set a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown the chicken legs in a little oil, about 5 minutes each side. Do not crowd the pot. You may need to do this in two batches. Remove from the oil and set aside.
While the chicken is browning, remove the porcini mushrooms from the water and coarsely chop. Strain the liquid through a wire sieve into another bowl. Set aside.
Working in 2 batches, brown the chanterelle mushrooms in the dutch oven, season with salt and pepper, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Add the shallots, leeks, garlic, and rehydrated porcinis one at at time, cooking each ingredient for a minute of two before adding the next. Season with ¼ teaspoon of salt. Cook until everything is translucent, about 8 minutes.
Add the sherry, making sure to scrape off any of the brown bits at the bottom of the pot. Simmer for 1-2 minutes until reduced a bit. Add the chanterelle mushrooms, porcini mushroom liquid, chicken broth, sage, and nutmeg to the pot. Gently place the chicken legs, skin side up, into the liquid. The skin part of the chicken should be sitting above the liquid. Cover the pot with a lid and place in the oven. Cook until the chicken is very tender, about 60 minutes.
Remove the pot from the oven and set on the stove. Carefully take the chicken from the pot and at this point you can either keep the chicken legs whole or shred the meat, set aside. Reduce the soup mixture by 1/3 over medium high heat, about 15-20 minutes.
While the stock is reducing, prep your dumplings. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, then blend in butter well with your fingertips. Stir in milk until just combined. Let dough stand for 5 minutes.
Turn the stove to low and return the chicken back to the pot. With damp hands, roll rounded tablespoons of dough into balls. Carefully place them into the pot. They should sit halfway above the soup. Cook covered with a lid for 15-20 minutes. The dumplings will swell up significantly.