Recipe of the week: Comforting Turkey Stew

Nothing hits the spot better in winter than a stew, and British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver takes on an American classic with gusto. His new cookbook, Jamie’s America, was inspired by his search for “quintessentially American” food, and it’s as charming as his TV persona.

Comforting Turkey Stew

Ingredients
3 onions, peeled and diced
Olive oil
1 ¾ lbs skinless turkey breast, preferably free-range or organic, cut into ½-inch slices
1 ¼ quarts chicken broth, preferably organic
½ lb small white or crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2/3 cup heavy cream
A small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 lemon
½ clove garlic, peeled

For the dumplings
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 large egg, preferably free-range or organic
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
whole nutmeg

Wine Suggestion: French dry white—a Côte du Rhône, from either the Marsanne or Roussanne grape or a blend

Instructions

Put a large frying pan on a medium high heat and add your diced onions and a lug of olive oil. Fry gently for 10 minutes or so, but don’t let the onions color. Add your sliced turkey and pour in 1 quart of chicken broth to cover the turkey completely. Don’t worry if it looks like a lot of liquid, because your dumplings will soak up a fair amount. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes with the lid on.

Meanwhile, make your dumplings. Put your flour into a mixing bowl, make a well in the middle and crack in your egg. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper and 5 or 6 gratings of nutmeg. Mix together with a fork, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the simmering broth from the pan, a splash at a time, and knead until you have a smooth dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and pop the bowl into the refrigerator.

When the turkey is ready, shred the meat apart with 2 forks, then add the mushrooms to the pan with the cream and stir. Have a taste and season to your liking with salt and pepper, then let it tick away while you get on with finishing the dumplings.

Dust a clean worktop and a rolling pin with flour and roll the dough out until it’s roughly the size of this open book and the thickness of a quarter. Slice into 18 to 20 ribbons about ¾ inch wide and stir these into your stew. They suck up quite a bit of moisture, so add a splash more broth if and when needed. Bring back to a boil, then turn down and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

At this stage your dumplings should be soft and cooked through, so roughly chop your parsley leaves and add them to the stew. Finely grate over the fragrant lemon zest and ½ clove of garlic right at the end. Stir, then check the seasoning one last time. Divide everything between your bowls and serve right away with a fresh green salad and some hot crispy bread.

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Reprinted from Jamie’s America by Jamie Oliver. Published by Hyperion. Available wherever books are sold. All Rights Reserved. Read our review of this book.