Chicken Stew

By Jason


Lacey and I enjoy cooking together. With some of my Christmas spending money, I bought a new cookbook, Jamie’s Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver. We’re committed to trying one new recipe per week, and, already, we’ve had a few recipes (sweet potato and chorizo soup, macaroni and cheese with cauliflower, and baked carrots).

Yesterday, Lacey made a chicken stew recipe (with a sliced potato topping) from the new cookbook, and it turned out really well. We had enough to make a serving dish full and a little dish to stick in the freezer.

We had a few of our own twists. The recipe called for white wine, but since we don’t keep that on hand, we used apple juice (you can also use white grape juice). The stew was supposed to have 2 medium onions, but we almost always reduce the onion in recipes. We like to use dry spices, instead of buying fresh herbs. The trick is to use 1 teaspoon of dry spice for every 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs.

Jamie Oliver encourages his readers to teach four people how to cook some of their favorite recipes from the cookbook. Since there’s about four of you reading this post, I’ll include the recipe at the bottom of this post.

We’ll keep you updated on our progress through the cookbook. So far, I would recommend the book to others. For us, it’s a good mix of things we’ll obviously enjoy and some things that will be experimental.


Basic Chicken Stew

2 stalks celery
2 medium onions (we used 1)
2 carrots
Olive oil
1 heaped tablespoon of all-purpose floor
1 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper (to taste)
3 sprigs of fresh thyme (we used about 2 teaspoons of dried thyme)
1 pound diced, boneless, skinless chicken
2 cups white wine (we used 2 cups of apple juice)

Roughly chop celery and onions (we prefer to finely chop them). Peel and roughly chop carrots. Heat 2-3 tablespoons over medium heat in a large pot, and sauté celery, onions, and carrots for 10 minutes. Stir in chicken, flour, wine/apple sauce, and canned tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1.5 hours. Remove the lid during the final half hour; if the stew appears dry, add a splash of water.

Hot-pot Topping

1.25 lbs of medium potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
.5 stick of butter
Dried thyme

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel and boil potatoes whole for ten minutes. Drain potatoes and cool for 5 minutes. Slice potatoes length-wise in .25-inch slices and lay over stew in an oven-safe pan. Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook in the oven for 40 minutes.