Gordon Ramsay Chicken Stew Recipe

Gordon Ramsay’s chicken stew is a whole jointed chicken simmered with root vegetables in a litre of stock, the meat pulled off the bone, then finished with coriander suet dumplings. The recipe is called a chicken casserole in Make It Easy, though it eats like a proper stew.

Ramsay’s twist is lemongrass and fresh ginger in the broth, which nobody expects but everyone loves. He keeps things deliberately unfussy: chicken goes into the pot with stock, vegetables and herbs, simmers for 40 minutes, and that is the hard work done. He even says it “can be done a day in advance.”

What makes this different from every other chicken casserole recipe is the dumpling dough: flour, shredded suet and fresh coriander, mixed with cold water until soft. They go into the hot liquid and puff up in 10 to 15 minutes until doubled in size. Ramsay says to “serve in warm pasta bowls with crusty bread for mopping up the juices.”

Gordon Ramsay Chicken Stew with Coriander Dumplings

Recipe by Sophie LaneCourse: DinnerCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4-6

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

55

minutes

Calories

520

kcal

Total time

70

minutes

Jointed chicken braised with root vegetables, lemongrass and ginger, then finished with coriander suet dumplings. From Gordon Ramsay’s Make It Easy. The kind of one-pot cooking you can start a day ahead and finish in 15 minutes.

Ingredients

• For the Stew:

• 8-12 chicken portions (legs, thighs etc)

• 1 litre chicken stock

• 4 celery sticks, halved

• 2 leeks (white part only), finely chopped

• 2 red onions, cut into wedges

• 4 carrots, chopped

• 2 parsnips, chopped

• 1 celeriac, finely diced

• 1 bay leaf

• Few thyme sprigs

• 1 lemongrass stalk

• Knob of fresh root ginger, bruised

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• For the Coriander Dumplings:

• 250g plain flour

• 100g shredded suet

• 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Directions

• Braise the chicken: Put the chicken pieces in a large oval casserole, add the stock and bring to the boil. Add all the vegetables and bring back to a simmer. Stir in the bay leaf, thyme, lemongrass, ginger and plenty of seasoning. Cover and simmer very gently for about 40 minutes until the chicken is tender.
• Pull the meat: Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly. Skim off any fat from the surface. Lift out the chicken pieces, pull the meat off the bone, discard the skin, then return the meat to the pan. Check the seasoning.
• Make the dumplings: Mix the flour, suet and chopped coriander together in a bowl. Add enough cold water to form a soft, pliable dough. Shape into small dumplings, roughly the size of a golf ball.
• Cook the dumplings: Reheat the casserole until the liquid comes to the boil. Drop in the dumplings, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the dumplings have doubled in size and are fluffy all the way through.
• Serve: Discard the lemongrass, ginger and herb stalks. Ladle into warm bowls with crusty bread on the side.

Notes

Source: Gordon Ramsay’s Make It Easy (Hodder & Stoughton, 2010). Can be braised a day in advance, then reheated with fresh dumplings dropped in.

FAQs

Why does Ramsay put lemongrass and ginger in a British stew?

I wondered the same thing when I first read the recipe, because lemongrass in a chicken casserole feels wrong on paper. But it works. The lemongrass adds a subtle citrus warmth without making it taste Asian, and the ginger cuts through the richness of the suet dumplings.

You discard both before serving, so they leave behind just a hint of something you cannot quite place. People always ask what the secret ingredient is.

What is the difference between this stew and chicken fricassee?

Completely different method. This stew simmers the chicken gently in stock from the start, like a poach, then pulls the meat off the bone. Ramsay’s chicken fricassee browns the chicken first, flambés it in brandy, then braises it with lardons and mushrooms.

The fricassee is what I make when someone is coming over. This stew is what I make when it is just us and I want leftovers.

Can you make this a day ahead?

Ramsay says you can, and I think it is actually better that way. Braise the chicken, pull the meat, let the whole thing cool and refrigerate overnight. The flavours meld and the fat solidifies on top so you can lift it off.

When you are ready to eat, reheat until boiling, drop in the dumplings and they are done in 15 minutes. The dumplings should be made fresh though. Mixed dough goes dense if it sits around.

What can you use instead of suet?

Cold butter grated on a box grater works, though the dumplings will be slightly less fluffy. Vegetable suet is available in most supermarkets if you want to keep it lighter. The ratio stays the same: 100g fat to 250g flour.

The coriander is not optional. Without it the dumplings taste like plain flour balls, and the whole point is that herby, fragrant hit when you break one open.

What should you serve alongside?

Ramsay says warm pasta bowls and crusty bread, and I would not argue. A soda bread straight from the oven is the best match because it soaks up the broth without falling apart. Rice works too if you want something more filling, though the dumplings are already substantial.

If you have leftover roast chicken, skip the braising step entirely. Strip the meat, drop it into the vegetable broth and go straight to dumplings. A 20-minute dinner from Sunday’s leftovers.

How do you know when the dumplings are done?

They should have doubled in size and feel light when you lift one with a spoon. Cut one open: the inside should be fluffy and cooked through, not dense or doughy.

Do not lift the lid during the first 10 minutes. The steam is what puffs them up, and every time you peek you let it escape.