This recipe is inspired by two key memories for me: the doughboys from my mom’s beef stew and a memorable meal in France.

My mom used to make beef stew with dough boys (or dumplings as we sometimes called them) growing up - a classic winter meal. There was something really magical about how when the cover came off the stew, these puffed up biscuits appeared. I can remember being told to not touch the cover of the pot because otherwise the doughboys wouldn’t turn out. For this recipe I’ve added in my favourite holiday condiment, cranberry sauce, to the doughboys for a little sweetness and tartness, and parsley for a fresh bite.

One summer during undergrad, I studied in Lyon, France. Quite a few meals from Lyon have stuck with me in 8 years that have passed, but the chicken and leek stew I had my last night was one of the most affecting. It was one of the first times I had leeks, and I was amazed by the gentle onion flavour but buttery texture of the leeks. Browning the butter at the begin of this recipe adds a nuttiness to the base of the stew, building from that flavour profile.

Fluffy doughboys with cranberries and fresh parsley

Brown Butter Chicken Stew with Cranberry-Parsley Dough Boys

1 hour total

For the stew I recommend using a dutch oven. If you do not have a dutch oven, you can always start the browning in a cast iron skillet or frying pan and then transfer everything to a pot for the simmering of the stew.

Stew:

10-12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (around 900g)

Seasoning: summer savoury* (~1 tbsp), kosher salt (~ 1 tsp), pepper (~1 tsp)

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 leek**, the pale green/white part sliced length-wise, and then chopped into half cm slices

5-6 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into 1cm pieces (yields about 3 cups)

4-6 stalks of celery, diced (yields about 2 cups)

1 package of cremini or white button mushrooms, halved

½ cup frozen green peas (optional)

4 cups of chicken broth (or 1 tetra pack, 900ml)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp all purpose flour

Doughboys:

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

¼ cup freshly, finely chopped parsley

2 tbsp cold butter in small, 1 cm cubes

¼ cup cranberry sauce (if you choose to not include cranberry sauce you might need to add a bit more milk)

¾ cup of milk (1% or higher)

Stew:

Melt the butter in the dutch oven over medium-high heat. Allow the butter to start bubbling and brown, until you see particles begin to look like they are almost burning. The butter should smell nutty and fragrant, and have an overall brown look to it (if you scoop some up into a spoon the liquid should be golden brown and the particles will look dark, almost black). Once the butter reaches this state, add in the olive oil and stir in. This will prevent the butter from burning.
Season the chicken thighs with kosher salt, pepper, and an even dusting of summer savoury (both sides).
Add the chicken to the pan to brown on each side (about 2-3 mins). Try not to overcrowd your pan or the chicken will steam instead of brown. Depending on how many pieces you do, you may need to brown in two shifts.
Once the chicken is browned on both sides, place it on a plate and cover. There should be some juice and oil left in the dutch oven.
Add in your leeks and saute until soft over medium heat (4-5 mins). Then add in celery, carrots, mushrooms and sautee for a 5 more mins. Season your vegetables with salt and pepper.
Add the chicken and chicken broth into the dutch oven and simmer on low-medium, covered, until carrots are soft and chicken is cooked through (15-20 mins). During this time you can prep the dough boys dough (instructions below). When you first pour in the broth it may not look like enough liquid but the vegetables will cook down and keeping the stew covered will maintain the liquid.
Once the carrots and chicken are cooked through, remove about ¼ cup of the stew broth into a small bowl (it’s ok if some leeks come with it) and whisk with 2 tbsp of flour until a smooth slurry is formed
Pour the slurry into the stew both and stir to mix in – this will help thicken the stew as it simmers.
Your stew is ready for the doughboys! Instructions below

Doughboys:

When making the dough boys, think about the delicate art of making biscuits. The same principles apply here:

You want your butter cold and evenly distributed into the flour, looking like small peas
Once you add in your liquid, you want to stir as little as possible, just bringing it the dough together. Over mixing will cause some dense, hard doughboys.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper using a whisk to evenly distribute
Add in the fresh parsley and add in the butter. I like to use the palm of my hands to slide the butter pieces between my hands creating small “sheets” of butter in the flour. You could also use a pastry cutter but hands work well for this small amount!
In a bowl or measuring cup, gently fold the milk into the cranberry sauce. You don’t want to over stir otherwise you will have purple doughboys. A few gently folds will get the liquids mixed.
Pour your liquid into the dry ingredients and “fluff” using a fork until no dry spots exist. Do not overmix, just stir until the dough comes together.
If you are into green peas, now would be the time to stir them into your stew. Taste your stew and adjust seasoning as needed (salt and pepper, more summer savoury if desired)
Drop small scoops (~2 tbsp) of dough into the surface of the stew. Remember the dough boys will double in size so don’t make them too big! And try to leave a little space between them.
Cover for 15 mins. DO NOT OPEN THE POT. You will be very sad if you do.
After the 15 mins, open the pot. The dough boys should look light and fluffy, but a density that when you poke them they barely bounce back.
Serve with some additional chopped parsley on top and enjoy!

* summer savoury is a dried herb from the East Coast of Canada, you could substitute with savoury, thyme, rosemary, herb de provence.

**substitution: if you don’t have leeks, you can always use white onion for the base