Dumplings Deluxe

I have often wandered, what did we eat before we had potatoes, pasta and rice?

I get tired of serving these starches and one alternative I fall back on quite often is

dumplings. 

I've tried all sorts of recipes for them, some with just flower and water, others with a range of ingredients, but I come back to this recipe over and over again.  

These can be made with butter or lard, but I must admit I do prefer them with butter. I like to use stock, usually chicken or vegetable stock, but milk or wine could also be used, what ever your preference, depending on the dish they are to be added to. 

These dumplings could also be served as a side dish, cooking them in salted water, but that's a bit boring to my way of thinking. 

Give these a try with chicken soup or stew; they make all the difference to the meal.

Ingredients:
375ml flour
10ml baking powder
2.5ml salt
50g butter
180-190ml chicken stock
30ml chopped parsley

Method:
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
Rub in the butter until you achieve a bread crumb constituency.
Stir in the stock and herbs and mix together to form a loose dough.
When your stew is almost ready, drop rounded tablespoons of dough into the simmering stew. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes and a further 10 minutes covered.
Serve immediately straight from the pot!