We all know in Winter, all you want to do is sit in front of a warm crackling fire (or air-conditioning), and drink Hot Chocolate with extra sprinkles and marshmallows, but we all know that a lovely warm casserole or chicken soup is by far the best cure for the winter chills. Last year in Winter, I started to cook my chicken stew packed with loads of various vegetables ranging from carrots to leeks. I find that a nice warm chicken or beef stew packs-a-punch in Winter as its filled with all the good nutrients we need during the Winter months.
So the question is, how do I create my version of a Chicken Stew? Well it's pretty simple and it takes around 1 hour and 30 mins to be all cooked and ready to serve.
You will need:
-Chicken Breast or thigh fillets (whichever you fancy).
-A range of vegetables such as 1 brown onion (diced finely), 4 carrots (cut into round slices), 1 leek (diced into cubes), 5 potatoes (cut into big quarters), celery (cut into cubes), sweet potato (cut into round slices).
-Healthy olive oil
-Casserole stock pot or cast-iron pot
-Vegetable stock
-Water
-Chicken stew powder mix- to add flavour to the dish.
I start off by using a big iron casserole pot with a lid, and put it on high heat and add some sort of healthy olive oil, and let it heat. I start by cutting the chicken breast into small cube like pieces, and set it aside. I then dice a large brown onion finely and place it into the casserole pot and let it cook until soft or lightly brown. Once the onion is in the pot, I cut up the rest of the vegetables (carrots, leeks, celery), but I don't cut up the sweet potato or normal potatoes just yet, because if I pop it in the pot too early, they will get all mushy and too soft. I place the chicken in the pot with the vegetables and cook until chicken is just cooked and then I add the chicken stew powder mix and vegetable stock in a jug and mix together until the mix is combined and pop it in the pop and allow the chicken and vegetables to simmer and cook slowly. I add warm water occasionally to the pot to ensure the liquid doesn't soak up too much. After the chicken and vegetables have simmered and cooked through, I then add the sweet potato and normal potatoes in to the pot and cook for a further 25 mins. Once the liquid has bubbled, chicken is cooked, and vegetables have cooked though and are soft, dinner is ready.
Serve with either wholemeal bread or garlic bread and Bon Appétit!
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