4 April, 2018
Lemon Chicken Stew
It was snowing on the Wednesday of Easter Week! So, it seemed a good day for a dinner stew. I had some chicken breasts and some “baby-cut” carrots (those little veggie tray carrots), so I started with that and designed a chicken stew around those two ingredients. (This recipe will serve four.) Off to the store I went and brought home additional ingredients, ending up with the following:
1-1/2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast
2 cups “baby-cut” carrots (or carrots peeled & sliced 1/2″)
12 oz baby Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
1 medium Spanish onion, 1/2″ dice
6-8 garlic cloves, pressed
8 oz fresh spinach
1/2 cup chopped fresh curly-leaf parsley
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
1 Knorr vegetable bouillon cube
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
salt
pepper
1 fresh lemon
(not pictured: 1 tsp olive oil; 2 tbsp all-purpose white flour)
Here’s what I did after gathering these ingredients.
First, heat the water and dissolve the vegetable bouillon cube in it; combine that with the chicken stock.
Then, cube the chicken into stew size chunks, sprinkle with salt and pepper. (By the way, notice the yellow silicon chopping “board” with the chicken emblem. I have, and recommend, these color coded chopping boards – yellow for poultry, red for beef, pork & lamb, green for vegetables & fruit, blue for seafood – they help prevent cross-contamination of food-borne illness pathogens.)
Next, in a Dutch oven or soup kettle, heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil and sauté the chicken over medium heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove, the chicken from the pot. Put the carrots and diced onion in the pot and sauté for five minutes; add the pressed garlic and cook another minute. Now add 1 cup of the mixed stock and deglaze the pan for a few minutes.
Whisk 2 tablespoons of flour into another cup of stock and stir that that to the pot. Return the chicken to the pot. Add the rest of the stock to the pot, together with the dried herbs.
Reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Cube the baby Yukon Gold potatoes.
And add them to the pot. Simmer another 20 minutes or so, until the potatoes are cooked.
Juice the lemon (stain out any pips). Chop the parsley if you haven’t done so already. Rinse the spinach.
Add the spinach to the pot. Stir it in and cook 2-3 minutes.
Now add the parsley and the lemon juice, stir well. Cook about a minute longer.
Serve. A loaf of crusty peasant bread is a fine addition!
Now here’s the recipe without the pictures or the chit-chat:
Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast
1 tsp olive oil
salt
pepper
2 cups “baby-cut” carrots (or carrots peeled & sliced 1/2″)
1 medium Spanish onion, 1/2″ dice
6-8 garlic cloves, pressed
12 oz baby Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
1 Knorr vegetable bouillon cube
2 tbsp all-purpose white flour
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
8 oz fresh spinach
1/2 cup chopped fresh curly-leaf parsley
Juice of 1 fresh lemon, strained
Directions:
Heat water, dissolve bouillon, combine with chicken stock.
Dice chicken into stew size chunks, season with salt and pepper.
In Dutch oven or soup kettle, heat 1 tsp olive oil; sauté chicken over medium heat for 5-6 minutes.
Remove chicken.
Sauté carrots and diced onion for 5 minutes or so, add pressed garlic, cook for 1 minute.
Add 1 cup of combined stock to deglaze pan.
Whisk 2 tbsp flour into another cup of combined stock, add to pot.
Return chicken to pot.
Add remainder of stock to pot; add dried herbs; bring to boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minute.
Wash and quarter potatoes; add to pot and simmer another 20 minutes or so.
Add spinach; stir into stew and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add chopped parsley and strained lemon juice, cook for 30-60 second.
Serve.
Serves four.