Chicago Chicken Stew – Chicken stew with carrots, potatoes, turnips and squash
This chicken stew is simply fabulous
and hearty, without being too heavy or unhealthy. I made my first batch in my largest pot last week, and it was gone before the night was over. Considering that there are only two of us, that just might make this dish the most popular thing I have ever made. And that’s saying a lot…
To start, warm some olive oil in a large pot over medium heat until it is sizzling. Add onions, half of your garlic, Northwoods seasoning, some salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook for about five minutes until the onions are becoming translucent.
Add in potatoes, turnips, carrots, squash and half a cup of chicken broth and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook for another five or so minutes, stirring frequently so that vegetables are exposed to the bottom of the pot and the chicken broth.
Add the chicken breasts and cook for another ten minutes. Move the contents of your pot out of the way with your spoon, add the flour and stir until the flour is absorbed, about one minute.
Add the rest of the chicken broth, the red wine, sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, remaining garlic and bay leaves. Stir, cover and let the mixture come to a boil. Once at a boil, turn down to a simmer and let cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. After fifteen minutes, taste and add additional Northwoods seasoning, salt and/or pepper if needed.
Once the thirty minutes has passed, carefully take the chicken breasts out and cut them into bite-sized pieces and add back to the pot. Cook for another fifteen minutes and enjoy!
Note – the longer you cook this stew, the more flavor it will have. Also, any type of soup or stew always tastes best the day after you make it, so you may want to double or triple this recipe to have leftovers!
Olive Oil (extra virgin – always!)
Garlic, 6 cloves
Onions, 2 medium or 1.5 large
Carrots, 4 peeled and diced
Potatoes, 10 small or 4-5 medium
Turnip, 1 large
Bottleneck Squash, .5 Medium or 1 small
Chicken Breast, 2 large
Flour, 2 tablespoons
Sugar, 2 teaspoons
Balsamic Vinegar or White Balsamic Vinegar (I used aged white), 1 tablespoon
Bay Leaves, 4 crushed leaves
Red Wine, .5 Cup (any kind you like to drink will do)
Chicken Stock (I used low sodium so I can salt to my taste), 4-5 cups
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Northwoods Seasoning (from Penzeys – containing Salt, Sweet Paprika, Pepper Thyme, Rosemary, Garlic and Chipotle
