Chicken Stew

~ A friend recently asked me for recipes with chicken. Coincidentally, both my kids caught a cold so I had a batch of rotisserie chicken stock already. For the kids, I made noodle soup for days but I still had enough stock left over. What to do- freeze or make something else? Stew is one of those great concepts for throwing whatever you have in the fridge. Many of the ingredients are items I usually have in the pantry.  

*Cook’s note: if using canned chicken broth, taste everything before adding salt. I do not season my stock beforehand.

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs- deboned and skinned

3 celery stalks- diced

1 medium onion- diced

3 carrots- diced

15 oz can fire roasted tomatoes with garlic

4 cups homemade chicken stock

½ cup Chardonnay

1 branch of fresh thyme

2 tbsp Italian parsley- minced

3 cloves garlic- minced

1 large bay leaf

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

1 tbsp tapioca starch

1 tsp sugar

vegetable oil

green peas (optional)

Directions:

1. Cut chicken into 1” cubes. Lightly season with salt.
2. Set a large flat bottom pot on medium high heat. Lightly cover surface with oil. Sear all chicken in batches, remove from pot, and set aside.
3. Reduce to medium heat. Add celery, onion, and garlic. Sautee until softened. Add canned tomatoes. Using a wooden spoon, gently scrape up the fond and mix in. Add broth, wine, salt, sugar, parsley, thyme, and bay leaf.
4. Lower heat to the lowest setting and cover. Let contents gently simmer for 45min.
5. Move contents of pot over to one side as much as possible. Pour in potatoes and carrots. Try to move potatoes and carrots under the chicken as much as possible. Cover and simmer for another hour.
6. Taste and season with more salt if necessary. Add fresh ground pepper.
7. If desired add green peas and cover for 5min. This will add a nice touch of bright color.
8. Remove and discard bay leaf and thyme branch. 
9. Serve with warm bread or a light salad.