Chicken casserole with cheesy herb dumplings | MummyPages.uk

Ingredients

• 1 chicken (1.8kg)
• Salt and freshly ground
• Black pepper
• 2tbsp olive oil
• 350g unsliced rindless streaky bacon, cut into 1-2cm (½in) chunks
• 1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2cm (1in) slices on the diagonal
• 700ml chicken or vegetable stock
• Few sprigs of thyme
• For the cheesy herb dumplings:
• 350g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1tsp salt
• 300ml (½ pt) buttermilk or soured milk
• 2tbsp finely chopped mixed herbs, such as parsley, thyme, rosemary, tarragon or chives
• 25g Cheddar cheese, finely grated
• 5cm scone cutter (optional)