From the cookbook: "A large rotisserie chicken is the way to go here. Just pull it apart and reserve the bones for stock. The dumplings are a treat, but this quick stew is also just fine over rice or buttered noodles."

CHICKEN SAUCE

Melt the butter in a large cast-iron Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring well, until caramelized, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the flour and stir to fully mix all the ingredients. Add the garlic, stir, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and the bay leaves and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low, then add the chicken, thyme, pepper, and salt to taste. Stir and let the sauce simmer while you make the dumplings.

DUMPLINGS

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.

Slowly add the buttermilk while whisking, until the mixture reaches biscuit consistency, about 10 minutes.

TO ASSEMBLE

Use a tablespoon to scoop the dough directly into the sauce. Place the dumplings around the pot so they don’t clump together. Press them down so they are just under the surface of the sauce.

Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low so the sauce simmers and the dumplings cook. After 15 minutes, remove one dumpling and cut it in half. If it is the same opaque texture all the way through, then it’s done. If it is doughy in the center, cook the remaining dumplings for 3 minutes longer. Don’t overcook or the dumplings will fall apart.

Serve garnished with fresh thyme.

Chicken Stock (makes 1 gallon)

Place the chicken bones in a stockpot set over low heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, peppercorns, and 1 gallon cold water and cook at a very low simmer (do not boil) for a minimum of 3 hours.

Cool and strain the stock. Discard the solids. Can freeze in an airtight container for 2 months, or keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

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Recipe excerpt from Modern Creole: A Taste of New Orleans Culture and Cuisine by Eric Cook with Jyl Benson, Photography by Sam Hanna. Reprinted by permission of Gibbs Smith Books.