CSA Bounty Chicken Stew

Thursday, 27 Oct 2011

Each week when our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share comes from Potomac Vegetable Farms, we are overrun with vegetables and I need to get creative to use them all. Â This week, I put some of almost everything we got into a quick chicken stew. (prepping the vegetables isn’t that quick but the cooking part is). Â I used as a template Mark Bittman’s Chicken Not Pie recipe from Runner’s World, a great recipe the way it is. Â Instead of the carrots, snowpeas, red potatoes and asparagus in his recipe, I used our bountiful selection including green peppers, cabbage, kohlrabi (it was my first time cooking this — prep tips here), turnips, broccoli, fresh dill, onions and garlic. Â The recipe uses chicken breast and can be served over rice or noodles (brown rice or whole wheat pasta if you want to health it up a little.) Â Perhaps this is not a true stew since the chicken is cooked early on and added back in at the end, but I’m at a loss for what else to call it.

Voila, the prepped vegetables. Â Ingredient-wise, I followed the Bittman recipe (hence the vegetable broth, white wine and lemon juice above) except for substituting the types of vegggies, and using dill instead of thyme. Â The vegetables and quantities I used are as follows:

1/2 large kohlrabi, cut into 1″ cubes

2 white potatoes, cut into 1″ cubes

2 small turnips, Â cut into 1″ cubes

1/4 cabbage, roughy chopped

1 garlic clove,Â minced

1/2 onion, sliced or roughly chopped

1 small head of broccoli, cut into small florets

3 small green bell peppers, cut into 1″ chunks

1 small bunch of fresh dill, torn into small pieces (add as seasoning to taste)

Step 1: Â saute onions and garlic in olive oil.

Step 2: Â Add broth, white wine and dill and bring to a boil. Â I always find that I wish there was more liquid when I get to the end of this recipe, so I add at least another 1/2 cup of broth for good measure.

Step 3: Â Add chicken. I used about a pound of chicken breast, cut into 1″ cubes. Â Bittman’s recipe has you cook the chicken breasts or tenders whole in the liquid and remove when barely cooked. Â I’ve had trouble getting the chicken to the right doneness with this approach, so I cut it up first (and also seasoned it with salt and pepper). Â It cooks really fast this way, so you have to be careful not to overcook it in this step, or when you add it back in at the end. Â When the chicken is cooked in this step, remove it to a separate bowl with a slotted spoon.

Step 4: Â Add vegetables to the cooking liquid. I like to add the vegetables in two bunches: Â the ones that cook more slowly first (potatoes, kohlrabi, turnips), then after 10 minutes, the faster-cooking vegetables (peppers, cabbage, broccoli). Â I learned this the hard way this time — I put everything but the cabbage in at first, and the broccoli and peppers got overdone while I was waiting for the potatoes, etc. to cook. Â At this stage you can add a little more olive oil, or a couple pats of butter, along with some sea salt and freshly ground pepper to add flavor. Simmer/boil until the vegetables are tender or close to it.

Step 5: Â Add back in the chicken and its juices, and heat through.

And with that, it’s ready to serve! Â We had it with rice this time. Â In the past we’ve even eaten without an extra starch — the potatoes make it substantial enough that you don’t have to add more carbs. Â On the other hand, it’s also great with some nice, hot, crusty bread on a cold day.