Doyle's Chicken And Slippery Dumplings

Rub chicken, inside and out, with salt, pepper and paprika. Place chicken in stove-top Dutch oven 1/3 full of water. Add onion and celery. Bring to a boil and cover. Reduce to simmer and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until chicken is tender.

Remove chicken, celery and onion from pot. Set chicken aside and keep warm. The broth will be used to cook the dumplings.

Mix together flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add shortening and mix with your fingertips until mixture is consistency of coarse meal. Add water, a little at a time, until a soft, but not sticky, dough is formed.

Knead on floured board until soft, pliable and very smooth, about 4 to 5 minutes. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.

Place dough on floured surface and roll very thin. With a sharp knife, cut into squares, about 2 inches. Dust dumplings with flour.

Raise heat on the pot of broth to medium-high and drop dumplings, one by one, into boiling water, being careful not to let them stick together. Cover and boil dumplings for 10 to 15 minutes.

While dumplings are boiling, remove chicken meat from bones. Discard skin. Garnish dumplings with chopped parsley. Serve them immediately with the broth over the cut-up chicken.