Hearty chicken stew to warm the soul
BY READERS DIGEST
1st Jan 2015 Recipes
This is a hearty stew for the winter months. Quick and easy to make, the stew cooks slowly, leaving you with a delicious and flavoursome broth.
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 whole chicken, about 1.75kg (3½lb), cut into 8 serving pieces
- 35g plain flour
- 3 carrots, cut into long chunks
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
- 500g small red-skinned potatoes
- 300g Brussels sprouts, fresh or frozen
- 1 cup salt-reduced chicken stock
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
Recipe method
1. In a large flame-proof casserole dish or Dutch oven, heat the oil over a medium heat. Dredge chicken in the flour; reserve the excess flour. Add the chicken to the dish in batches and fry for 4 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C (gas mark 4). Add carrots and garlic to the dish and sauté for 5 minutes, or until the carrots are lightly coloured. Add the potatoes, Brussels sprouts, stock, salt and sage and bring to the boil. Return the chicken to the pan and return to a boil. Cover, place in oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender.
3. Remove the casserole from the oven. With a slotted spoon, transfer chicken to a platter. In a small bowl, blend reserved flour with 125ml cooking liquid from the casserole dish. Stir flour mixture into the stew. On the hob, bring the stew to a boil and cook for 1 minute, or until the sauce is slightly thickened. Spoon over the chicken.
Try something different…
In step 2, along with garlic and carrots, sauté 6 spring onions cut into 2.5cm (1 inch) lengths; omit Brussels sprouts, decrease stock to 180ml, substitute rosemary for sage, and add 155g frozen peas.
