Acadian Chicken Fricot

Acadian Chicken Fricot

We have a terrible lack of Canadian recipes here; because of this, I am always keeping my eye out for one. I found this Acadian recipe at Saveur's online Magazine, which looks pretty good. I intend to try it, one of these days.

Chicken Fricot In this classic Acadian comfort dish, savory - the pungent, peppery herb - adds a piney zest to the dumplings, which puff when dropped into the simmering broth. To serve 8: For the Soup 4 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 teaspoon olive oil 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped 1 medium carrot, roughly chopped 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped 6 cups chicken stock 4 sprigs savory 1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces For the Dumplings: 1 cup flour 1 tablespoon finely chopped savory 2 teaspoons baking powder 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt 1⁄2 cup milk To make the soup: Heat butter and oil in a 6-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Working in batches, cook the chicken, flipping once, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside. Add garlic, onion, carrot, and celery to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 7 minutes. Return chicken and its juices to the pan with the stock and savory. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, covered, until chicken is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add potato and cook, until tender, about 8 minutes more. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken to a cutting board and discard the savory. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into large pieces and return to the pan. Bring the soup to a simmer. To make the dumplings: Whisk flour, savory, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Stir in milk until a thick batter forms. Using a 1-ounce scoop or 2 tablespoons, drop batter into simmering soup. When dumplings are puffed and slightly firm, cover the pan and continue to cook about 5 minutes more. http://www.saveur.com/article/recipes/chicken-fricot

Interesting is that it is - when you look at it - basically just a chicken soup with dumplings. But, there are a couple of little tweaks that make it interesting, and I assume those tweaks define it as Acadian; the savory, for instance.

We've discussed this before, but I wonder how much of the recipe is "cheffed up" a bit by Saveur. The olive oil seems incongruous, but I don't know enough to say for sure; and, in the end, it probably doesn't matter much because some sort of fat must be used.