Courtesy of Ryan Smith, Executive Chef at Empire State South
Ingredients
Chicken
- 4 chicken legs
- 2 carrots
- 2 fennel bulbs
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 quarts chicken stock
- 1 onion
- 1 head celery
- 1 head garlic
- 1 cup white wine
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
Dumplings
- 1 pound fresh ricotta
- 4 cups flour (sifted)
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
Veggies
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 bulb fennel
Instructions
Chicken
Season the chicken legs with salt and pepper. Sear them in 2 tbsp. canola oil until they are golden brown on both sides. Remove from the pan and discard the oil. Add fresh oil and sauté the veggies. Lightly caramelize the veg and deglaze with white wine. Reduce the wine by half and add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and add the chicken legs back to the pot. Cover with foil and braise in the oven for 1.5 hours until tender. Let the pan come to room temperature and remove the legs. Pick the cooked meat from the legs with no bone or connective tissue. Strain the braising liquid. Pour the braising liquid over the picked leg meat and chill and reserve.
Dumplings
Mix all ingredients and knead till smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic and rest in the fridge for 1 hour. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to ¼ inch thickness. Use flour as needed so that the dough doesn’t stick. Cut the dough into ½ inch strips with a chef’s knife and then into little rectangles creating rustic dumplings. Poach the dumplings in boiling water until they float and drop them in ice water until chilled. Once chilled, dry them on a kitchen towel and dress them with olive oil until ready to serve.
Veggies
Sauté the veggies in a small amount of canola oil, not getting color on them. Season them with salt and black pepper, add picked braised leg meat and the braising liquid. Then add the dumplings and warm through.
In a separate sauté pan, heat a small amount of canola oil until it slightly smokes. Then add the seasoned chicken breast skin side down. Over med heat, sear the chicken breast until its golden brown. Put the pan in the oven to roast at 350 F for 7-8 min.
Take the pan out and turn the breast. Next, let the breast rest in the pan with no heat for 2 min. Finally, remove from the pan and rest at room temp. for 4 min.
In a serving bowl, place the chicken meat and dumpling mixture in the base and the roasted breast on top. Garnish with fennel fronds and enjoy.
