Hearty Pennsylvania Dutch Stock

About 15 years ago, we were interested in buying a small sofa that Phil found on Craig’s List. Since the location was close to where I work, I took our mini-van and a fistful of dollars so I could examine it after work and make an offer if I liked the looks of it. I hate price negotiations, so Phil suggested that I call him mid-bargaining, and he could help seal the deal. Fine. The seller had obviously foreseen this and had the same deal going with his wife. He called her to see if they would accept my low offer. This is the side of his conversation with his wife that I heard:

“She wants to know if we’ll take (price X that has been expunged from my memory.)”

Pause.

“OK. Yep, she drove a mini-van, so I think so.”

Pause.

“No, you don’t need to. I’m sure the two of us can carry it. She looks like she’s of hearty Pennsylvania Dutch stock.”

Hearty Pennsylvania Dutch stock?! I’m in the room! I was initially shocked by this stranger’s brazen insult, but in all honesty, he wasn’t wrong. The couch was light, I’m freakishly relatively strong, and he totally nailed my ancestral background. How did he know? Somehow, my roots were showing.

This week, I talked Ben into a meal that honors our Pennsylvania Dutch heritage. Kind of. When people from Pennsylvania say chicken pot pie, they mean something very different from the dish in a pie pan with a crust that I grew up with. They clarify by saying it’s Pennsylvania Dutch style, so that’s why you have squares of dough floating in a chicken and veggie soup. I still find this puzzling, because this is not something that any of my Pennsylvania Dutch/Mennonite/Amish kin have ever produced, but the Pennsylvania version sounded interesting, so we decided to give it a shot. 

Our recipe is based on what we had on hand, as well as several recipes that purport to be authentically Amish. We found them on-line, (you know, where all good Amish recipes are found), since this dish does not appear in any of our Mennonite or Amish cookbooks.

The dough part of the recipe was fairly consistent across all versions, but the cooking time varied from 4 to 50 minutes! We split the difference and went with 6. (This reminds me of a coworker who said he didn’t want a cat, but his wife did, so they compromised and got a cat.)

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

For hearty Pennsylvania Dutch stock:

1 quart chicken stock

1 quart turkey stock

3 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 carrots, roughly chopped

1 stalk celery, roughly chopped

1 onion, peeled and quartered

1 bay leaf

For dough:

2 eggs

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

For pot pie soup:

2 carrots, peeled and sliced into thin rounds

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced

3/4 cup frozen peas with pearl onions

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup half and half

Salt and pepper to taste

Parsley to garnish

1. Make a hearty Pennsylvania Dutch stock by bringing all stock ingredients to a boil, and simmering until chicken is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken from pot, discard skin, remove meat from bone, cut into small pieces, and set aside. Return bones to pot and continue simmering while you make the dough.
2. To make dough, mix dough ingredients on low speed in stand mixer with dough hook until ball forms, then knead with dough hook a few minutes more. Remove to lightly floured surface and divide into four pieces. Feed each piece through thickest setting on dough roller of pasta maker. If you don’t have this attachment for your Kitchen Aid, roll with a rolling pin to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 1 1/2 inch squares.
3. Strain the hearty Pennsylvania Dutch stock, or remove and discard all pieces of vegetables and bones with a slotted spoon. Add carrots and celery and return to simmer. Add pieces of dough to simmering pot, one at a time. Simmer for about 4 minutes, add frozen peas and onions, and simmer another 2 minutes. Add milk and half and half. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary. Ladle into bowls and serve with chopped parsley on top.

As Ben continued eating, his review of the meal became increasingly less subtle. When asked if he liked it, he said, “Yeah,” but when faced with the remaining broth in his bowl after the dough had been harpooned with a fork and eaten, he offered, “Let’s freeze all the soup…and make something new.”